A Silent Affair
by Dawnrider
Summary: A near-fatal event destroys Kagome's voice at a young age, forcing her to navigate her new world without it. Can her new family and the puppy-eared boy who swears to protect her help her grow? Or will she wither away in silence? AU I/K Chpt 6 & 7 up.
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone. I've been working on this story quite a while but didn't have the guts to post it. Well here it is anyway! Please enjoy and review. Thanks!

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Unexpectedly she didn't feel much pain. Was she in shock? The young girl lay in a puddle of her own blood, feeling her life slipping away from her with each beat of her heart. _Is this what it feels like to die?_ Kagome supposed it probably was. It was decidedly less scary than she had thought it would be. In an offhand sort of way she realized she should have listened to her mother, stayed hidden like she'd told her to. But Kagome knew she needed to help. Her mother's scream had torn her from her spot in the attic with her brother and brought her to the courtyard of the shrine where a tall dark-haired man stood over the prone and bleeding members of her family. At ten years old Kagome was old enough to know a dangerous situation when she saw one but too young to stay away from it when it was obvious her mother was hurting. She ran toward her mother, tears in her brown eyes, only to be caught by the man. "What a pretty little girl," he crooned in a sickeningly sweet voice. She tried to scream but couldn't get the sound through her throat where he held her. Kagome's eyes widened in fear as she watched her mother try to reach for her. "Such a lovely throat," he murmured, more to himself than anything, while caressing the pale skin there. The raven-haired girl only saw a small flash of something that looked sharp before he dropped her and she felt her blood flowing down her neck and chest.

Now her vision was fading as she lay in the courtyard, tears slipping into her hair. She didn't feel the pair of arms that lifted her nor did she hear the low growl that vibrated through the chest of the being that had taken hold of her. All Kagome knew was that she was now warm when she had felt so cold and numb before. Finally realizing that someone was moving her, she tried to speak but was hushed before she even began. "Hush Little One. You are safe." The deep voice soothed her as she slipped into darkness unafraid. She felt protected so she could let herself go.

Growling to himself, the silver-haired figure kept the small girl close to his chest. She was fading fast and he had to do something quickly or she would be gone forever. He wouldn't allow that. Smelling the blood of her family already made him sick, smelling hers as well only made it worse. Tilting his head he could hear the soft crying of another child. The brother. Making his way into the house after applying pressure bandages made of his shirt to the girl's wound he found the little boy quivering in the attic. He had to work to gain the boy's trust but he finally convinced him to follow. The two males made their way back to his car and he settled the young beauty into the back seat. Sota, the younger brother, sat timidly in the front seat while constantly casting glances back at his older sister. "Ka-Kagome?" he whimpered.

"Worry not. Your sister will be fine." The little boy turned wide brown eyes to him and he tried to give the child a reassuring smile. He cursed his inability to save their mother and grandfather but it was the children he had sworn to protect no matter what and he was lucky he'd been able to do even that. Or at least try. Kagome's life force was growing fainter and he had to hurry or she wouldn't make it to his home let alone through the night.

"Thank you," came the little boy's sincere voice. The tall, silver-headed male glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, nodding. The boy seemed to understand and relaxed back against the car seat until his emotional exhaustion won out and forced him into sleep. Once he arrived home with his cargo he left Sota to be brought in by his son while he brought Kagome in himself. She was even more fragile than he'd thought and the house became alive with the hustle and bustle of mending the young girl, attending to her younger brother and trying to find someplace to put the both of them.

* * *

"Why have you brought her here Chichi-ue?" a deep though still young voice asked. His disgust was obvious, even to the cloudy mind of the ten-year-old girl. She tried to open her eyes but found that her eyelids were too heavy to lift. A soft grunt from someone older distracted her from trying to listen to the young man's voice and even from keeping up the fight with her eyelids.

"Her family was murdered. She and her brother were the only ones I could save," replied the same kind and comforting voice she remembered from before. She could feel as well as hear the sorrow in his voice as he spoke. _Whose family? Are they talking about me?_ Kagome certainly hoped not. She knew that she was weak for a reason and that her heart hurt for something connected to that reason but she couldn't for the life of her remember what had happened. "I made a promise to her father years ago that I would watch out for his family but it seems I've failed them…"

The shifting of fabric alerted her that someone had moved closer. "She's pretty, I guess," admitted a much younger male voice, one that belonged to neither the kind man nor the disgusted youth. She let his voice wrap around her like she had the nice man's. He thought she was pretty. Given this information Kagome desperately wanted to open her eyes to see who thought such nice things about her but still found herself unable to move. She fought to gain control of her voice, her eyes, anything to alert the people in the room to the fact that she was awake.

A deep chuckle came from the man and Kagome felt like she wanted to smile as well, forgetting once again her efforts to move. Her mind had never been this flighty before, even for a ten year old. "I'm glad you think so Inuyasha. I place her in your care." He paused a moment to let the information sink into the boy's brain. "She is yours to protect my boy and I'm counting on you to keep an eye on her."

"Keh," the boy snorted. Kagome's eyes fluttered open briefly. After struggling so long to get them open it was a small victory. She was able to catch a glimpse of silver hair, golden eyes and silver puppy ears. "Hey Dad! Her eyes opened," the boy cried. Kagome lost consciousness again, not hearing the response to the boy's observation. Darkness had beckoned her once again and she hadn't had the strength to resist its call. The image of the boy with silver hair and small ears on top of his head followed her into oblivion, not leaving her alone in the darkness anymore.

* * *

Several days passed before she woke again to find the same pair of golden eyes that had been haunting her shapeless dreams watching her with avid interest. "You're awake." Blinking until her eyes cleared, Kagome stared at the silver-haired boy in confusion. After a few moments of staring at him she felt a trickle of pain in her throat and remembered why she wasn't waking up in her own bed with her mother's face over her. Trying to sit up she was pressed back down into the soft mattress. "Don't worry. My dad saved you and your brother. You're safe here," he assured her with obvious confidence. Kagome tried to voice her thanks but nothing came out. "Here, let me get you some water." With a blush on her cheeks the young girl let him help her drink from the cup. The cool water did help her throat feel better but still nothing happened when she tried to speak. Seeing that she was beginning to panic, the golden eyes of the boy widened and he told her to calm down, that he was going to get his father. This did little to reassure her and she felt tears trickle down the sides of her face as she waited for the boy and his father to come back.

Once they had returned she felt a good deal better but found herself still panicking that she couldn't seem to speak. "Now, now. No need to cry Little One. We'll see what's wrong as quick as we can, ne?" the man who she recognized as the one who'd saved her told her with a smile. Kagome settled down some at his gentle tone, his deep voice lulling her slightly. The boy who she'd awoken to stood impatiently behind his father, worry in his deep amber eyes. Kagome caught his gaze as his father proceeded to examine her. Soft growling noises shot between the two and the young girl quickly realized that the two were communicating. _Inuyoukai._ She hadn't even thought about it before. The markings on the man's face, his coloring and his stature reminded her of a man she'd seen once before on the shrine grounds, talking to her father when she was very little. Could this be the Taiyoukai her grandfather had spoken of once or twice? Then that would mean that the boy behind him was the prince and the other, older boy had been the crown prince of youkai! Kagome's eyes widened and her throat worked painfully as she tried to ask her questions. A slightly sad look crossed both the Taiyoukai and his son's faces. "Hush Little One," he murmured soothingly, "You'll have to wait. Your throat is still… raw." Even if she didn't have the senses of a youkai Kagome could see the lie in his eyes. Groping around she tried to indicate that she wanted a piece of paper and something to write with.

Catching on to her motions before his father, the boy went to the desk under the window and grabbed a pad of paper and a pencil. Kagome took it gratefully, catching the boy's eyes once more. He blushed slightly and uttered a "keh" at the gratitude in her gaze. The pair of silver-haired males waited patiently for the girl to write what she had to say. Once finished, she handed it to the tall man and waited with tears in her eyes for the answers she was so obviously dreading.

Looking over the shakily written note the elder youkai clucked his tongue slightly. "I am Inutaisho Toga, and this is my youngest son Inuyasha. I'm afraid… I'm afraid your mother and grandfather are dead Little One. Your brother Sota is quite safe." He glanced back down at the sheet of paper and sighed. "No, I don't think you can speak. When that… that creature," he spat, "harmed you, he hurt your voice. I don't know that it will be able to be repaired," he told her gently. With a large clawed hand he wiped the raven-haired girl's bangs from her brow. Tears ran freely down her cheeks and into her dark hair. Inuyasha turned away, unable to face the girl's pain. It stung his nose and made him want to hurt someone for causing her to cry. After a moment of listening to her sniffles, and noticing the absence of sound from the sobs he knew she was crying, he had to leave. Without gaining permission from his father or glancing in the girl's direction he made his way out of the room. If there was one thing he knew might comfort her, it was seeing her brother alive and well. He went in search of the brat and found him in the room he had been given several days before.

He haltingly explained the problem to the boy and the seven year old seemed to understand it much better than he would have imagined. "Kagome can't talk?" he asked in small voice. Inuyasha nodded curtly. "Never again?" Inuyasha flinched at the pain in the young boy's voice but affirmed his fears. "I want to see my nee-chan," he whispered. Inuyasha wasted no time in taking the boy to her room. His father still sat by her bedside, trying his best to comfort the distraught girl. Nothing he did seemed to be working and it was obvious to his son that the older youkai was as distressed by this fact as he himself had been. "Kagome," Sota whimpered as he ran over to the bed and nearly leaped on top of her. The young girl caught her sibling in her arms and the two cried together. Toga took a slightly surprised step back and watched the two in shock and sympathetic sorrow. His sons were nowhere near this affectionate, and certainly wouldn't go to one another for comfort. He distanced himself from the Higurashi children and watched as his youngest took a seat by the door, blatantly guarding the two as they slowly calmed down and drifted off to sleep in one another's arms.

"I got it Dad." Toga watched his twelve-year-old son in silence for a few moments before glancing back at the two human children on the bed.

"I know you do Inuyasha."


	2. Chapter 2

Down the road a little further. Author notes are going to be pretty sparse... I suppose y'all probably like it better that way. Enjoy!

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Inuyasha awoke in the same position he often did when he forgot where he was, ears twitching agitatedly as he tried to determine where he'd ended up. Sitting against Kagome's wall, overly alert yet sleeping more soundly than he ever did in his own bed. Frowning, the hanyou massaged his face with his hands and took a moment to peek around the room. Kagome was in bed, asleep and completely unaware of his presence. Or at least he assumed she was unaware of him. He could never really tell and he could never get the whole truth out of her. Just last week she had been awake when he'd woken up in this very same spot but she'd made no move to acknowledge him. He growled faintly, dragging his stiff body from the floor and glancing again at the raven-haired girl in bed. Her eyes were closed but her right fist was raised near her forehead, her pinky sticking up in the sign for 'idiot.' Golden eyes narrowed at her and he watched her giggle silently, one brown eye peeking open at him. "Ha ha, you're so funny," he snorted at her before leaving the room and the sight of her laughing eyes.

Ten years had passed since the day Kagome and her brother had come into his life and so much had changed. Shortly after the attack on the Higurashi shrine and its family the Inu no Taisho had uprooted his own family and moved them to the States. There had been great protest from his sons and his wife, but he knew that Japan was no longer as safe as it had once been for his kin and for his wards. America was full of opportunities and open space for his family to grow and learn, to be truly free. Luckily for Inuyasha and Sesshomaru they had already started learning English in their studies at home. Sota was still young and so he picked up the language with great ease. Kagome was the only one excluded, choosing to stay at home instead of attending school like her sibling and the inuyoukai brothers. Inuyasha had completely understood her reluctance and had even helped her convince his father not to make her go. She still only wrote messages to communicate while using crude gestures when paper and pen were unavailable.

Then in seventh grade, Inuyasha had done some research in the library on his own, shocking his elder brother, who swore he didn't know how to read, when he came home reeking of old and musty books. There was an option out there for Kagome if only she would agree to it. The young hanyou brought the idea to her brother first, gaining his fast approval and support. The two them went to Inuyasha's mother, Izayoi, and got her smiling support as well before they approached his father. "You've obviously thought very hard about this Inuyasha," he said, hiding his smile from his youngest son. He too had been concerned at Kagome's persistent life of silence. She couldn't go on like this forever. He'd noticed that the young girl had begun hiding away from her brother and Inuyasha, the two people she seemed to trust more than anyone. "I think it is a very good idea. You will learn it with her I take it?" Inuyasha nodded emphatically. "Then I support it fully. You must convince Kagome of course."

That had almost been harder than convincing the Higurashi siblings to part had been that first horrible day. Kagome was stubborn and ashamed of her muteness. While she didn't want to continue having to write messages and wave wildly anymore, she also was afraid to learn not only one new language, but two. She'd seen how much work the two older boys put into learning English and feared that now she was too behind to learn too. Sota and Inuyasha had tried to teach her, speaking in both languages to her on occasion to get her used to it but she was so bullheaded, ignoring them when she'd had enough. "Come on Kagome, you can't stay locked up in the house forever. This way you'll be able to go out and talk to other people!" She had glared at him angrily, writing a quick and biting note in Japanese. 'No. I can't TALK remember, baka?' Growling at her insufferable stubborn streak the hanyou had stamped down the urge to shake her senseless. "This way you can! I'm not letting you hide in here all your life!" he shouted, grabbing her arm and growling. She pouted up at him and he saw the shadow of tears in her eyes. "Please Kagome? I'm going to learn it with you so you won't be alone. We'll do it together," he told her in a soft voice.

Inuyasha now remembered the first time she had signed to him to 'stop yelling at her and leave her alone' and he had understood, shutting his mouth with a snap more out of surprise than actually obeying her. After that her progress had skyrocketed as had his own. The two conversed almost nonstop, mostly arguing and sniping at one another, but at least Kagome was communicating freely. Inuyasha had never seen her glow so happily as when Toga had hesitantly told her 'goodnight' in sign late one evening as she headed to bed. She'd responded in kind, smiling brightly. "That girl has the most wonderful smile," his mother had whispered to his father after she had left the living room for her bedroom. Inuyasha had found himself agreeing wholeheartedly.

That had been almost eight years ago now. It had taken them a while to gain the vocabulary in American Sign Language in order to have it in English but the two were dedicated and Sota was equally enthusiastic to learn to sign since the two older children made it like a game. The three could talk to one another without the adults, and the stuffy Sesshomaru, knowing what they were saying. He'd finally been able to introduce her to some of his friends from school and they had truly taken a shine to her. Miroku most of all. The boy had been brought up in a Buddhist temple and apparently had a great talent for such things. Inuyasha didn't really want to know what all those things were but the boy was loyal and almost as protective of his best friend as he was. Miroku picked up bits and pieces of sign from them as he continued to spend time with the pair and eventually he was able to hold entire conversations with Kagome without any vocal help from Inuyasha whatsoever.

Shortly thereafter the three had been more or less inseparable. They went anywhere and everywhere together. The only place Kagome did not venture with the boys was to school since she attended a Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing school instead of regular public school. Despite not having any problems hearing, she found herself able to fit in much better where everyone signed like she did. Inuyasha had come with her on a few occasions to basketball games or plays, finding he understood a lot more than he'd previously thought he would. It was amazing how much one simply picked up from being in the company of those who used sign all the time.

Trying not to let all his memories swamp him, Inuyasha made his way down the hallway to his own room and flopped down on his bed face first. Why did he keep waking up in Kagome's room like that? He rolled onto his back, holding his pillow over his face as he tried to block out the obnoxious light of the sun and the chirping of the early morning birds. What drew him there in his sleep? He knew he shouldn't be there, least of all now. Kikyo wouldn't be pleased. But it wasn't like he was sleeping in bed with Kagome, just in her room next to the door.

While the long time friends had been through nearly everything together, Inuyasha felt as though Kagome was pulling farther and farther away from him. Even when he found himself in her room in the morning, able to share a joke or two with her, he still felt the separation between them. His relationship with Kikyo had put a wedge between them that the inuhanyou didn't want to admit existed. Kagome was his best friend, his partner in crime and he loved Kikyo. He'd asked her to marry him hadn't he? So why did being with Kikyo make him feel like he was betraying the girl he'd sworn to protect when he was only twelve? Similarly he felt guilty for spending time with Kagome when he was now engaged to Kikyo. When had his life become so complicated? He'd never had problems like this with Kagome before. Though he supposed he'd never really even had a girlfriend before he went to college either.

At first he hadn't noticed the distance between he and Kagome, only thinking it was because he was away at school and she had remained at home to finish high school before she attended a junior college. She hadn't felt confident applying to any big four-year schools, convinced the "normal" schools wouldn't accept her with her… problem. Inuyasha knew she was wrong but hadn't said anything, not wanting to upset her. So they had parted. In body only. They kept up with one another through e-mail and talking on the Internet everyday and used text messaging when they weren't near a computer. As soon as he'd told her he'd met someone she'd seemed happy for him, telling him to spill all the details. But not long after she just got busier and busier, unable to talk when he had exciting details to tell her. She was distancing herself from him and Inuyasha was oblivious to it for a short while. Then he contacted her brother when it got especially bad, not having heard from her in three days was unheard of for the hanyou, finding that she was as interested in her brother's life as she had ever been. The siblings were in constant contact even though Sota was even farther away at prep school than Inuyasha. Shortly thereafter he had planned a trip home. Inuyasha thought it would be good for one of the three most important women in his life to meet the other two so he brought Kikyo along with him.

The initial meeting had gone fairly well though Kagome had refused to sign in front of Kikyo, even denying him a proper hello when he greeted her warmly. Kagome was cold, polite and utterly silent with her hands. At the time he had tried to brush it off as her natural shyness with strangers but deep down it had bothered him greatly. However as his and Kikyo's stay progressed she didn't warm up to the other young woman and would only sign to him if they were the only ones in the room, which was extremely rare. Inuyasha's parents had continually given him disapproving looks but wouldn't tell him what they were all about. When he had gotten ready to leave she almost hadn't said goodbye, avoiding him until he'd had to hunt her down in the tree they always used to sit under to study. 'What do you want?' she'd signed angrily down at him from a low branch.

"I want you to say goodbye to me before I go back to school," he replied with just as much anger. Turning her head away from him forced him to leap onto the branch next to her. She startled a moment but remained angry. Inuyasha didn't understand why she was so mad at him. She'd treated him like a stranger all weekend, ignoring him and avoiding his presence. It had hurt him deeply and Inuyasha still wasn't sure why. One thing he'd known for sure and still knew to this day was that she had blatantly refused to touch him at all and after having such a close friendship with her for nine years it physically hurt him not to be able to be near her. Just like it would pain him if his mother wouldn't touch him, it hurt that Kagome was keeping such a firm distance. She was trying to show him something through her behavior but he was too stubborn and confused to understand. "At least hug me goodbye," he'd nearly begged.

'Goodbye,' she'd signed to him. 'I'll see you when winter break starts.' And that was it. That was all the farewell he'd been given and he hadn't had the energy to protest her dismissal. Why did she suddenly hate him so much?

But it was different during breaks. He'd be home for a couple of weeks, a month or a couple of months and she would become more like the old Kagome he knew. Had it been the long separation that made her upset and having him around for longer than a few days helped? Or was it something else entirely? He did notice that no matter how long he stayed, if Kikyo came with him, Kagome was almost nowhere to be found. The third summer break, when Kikyo had come to stay for almost a month, Kagome had all but moved out. She stayed the night with her brother and his friends in their house they rented over the summer and came home really only to eat occasionally and change clothes. Inuyasha once again felt the pang of loss for her absence but couldn't grasp why she disliked being in his presence when Kikyo was around. Of course, that had turned on a light bulb in the hanyou's head and he'd realized that Kagome wasn't avoiding him so much as she was avoiding Kikyo. The epiphany was one that both shocked and scared him. Having the two most important women in his life besides his mother not getting along would not do. So armed with this knowledge he'd gone in search of Kagome and had been surprised to find her once again holed up in their tree. "Hiding again I see." She glanced at him but didn't acknowledge him any more than that. "I want to talk to you about something." He continued when she didn't move. "It's about Kikyo…"

Her reaction was swift and angry. 'I don't want to talk about that.' Inuyasha had frowned up at her before leaping gracefully into the branch beside her as he'd done over a year and a half ago. 'When do you start your internship?' she'd asked him in a blatant attempt to change the subject.

"Don't do that. You know I hate it when you try to avoid important things."

'There's nothing to say,' she'd responded stubbornly.

"Obviously there is or you wouldn't be so angry. Why won't you at least try to get to know her?" Kagome had glared at him so hard, he swore he felt his ears burning under the heat of her stare. "You're both important to me and I want you to be friends. You get along with everyone else, why not her?" She hadn't responded. Inuyasha had threatened and cajoled but hadn't been able to get anything out of her. Eventually he'd given up, leaving her to sit alone in their tree so he could find someplace else to sulk. Then things had gone even farther downhill when he'd finally decided he was ready to ask Kikyo to marry him. The winter break of his senior year of college he'd brought Kikyo home once more to celebrate the holidays with his family. In front of his family and friends he'd gone down on one knee and offered himself to her. Kagome had left the room not waiting to see what his girlfriend said. Inside he was hurting for her obvious disapproval but he remained where he was until Kikyo accepted his proposal and fell into his arms laughing and crying. Later he'd tried unsuccessfully to find Kagome but so far she hadn't spoken to him for a week. Now, a week later, the only thing she'd been willing to sign to him was to go away or call him an idiot. He was getting tired of being ignored and mistreated and even though he was just as angry with her for abandoning him, he knew she was angry with him for something he couldn't understand but she wouldn't explain to him when he asked. Either way he'd still ended up in her bedroom this morning and at the moment, that was his biggest concern.

"She's not going to live like this forever Inuyasha," came a gentle but firm male voice from the door. Growling at the insight in the young man's voice, Inuyasha threw the pillow across the room, narrowly missing Miroku's head. How did he always sneak up on him undetected?

"Who let you in?" he growled.

"Your mother, like always. She adores me you know." Inuyasha snorted impolitely and sat up. There was a serious look on his old friend's face that he knew meant business. What serious thing could possibly have brought the dark-haired man to his bedroom at this early hour? Miroku made himself comfortable on the desk after closing the heavy door behind him. "You're hurting her and you don't even realize it, do you?" Inuyasha frowned, unsure whom the man was talking about now.

"Who, my mother?"

"No you idiot. Kagome." The hanyou's frown increased. He was hurting her? He wasn't the one ignoring her, pushing her away, and abandoning their friendship of ten years. He didn't see how her tossing him aside like so much rubbish was causing her pain. "I'm just warning you before you lose her altogether."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he shouted. Miroku said nothing more to him on the subject and refused to explain his warning. The two finally left Inuyasha's room to go into the kitchen where Izayoi was making breakfast. Kagome was already seated at the counter. Inuyasha tried in vain to catch her eye but she only smiled at Miroku and pulled him quickly into a conversation about school. Inuyasha pouted for a while until his mother told him to stop growling and eat. He felt like a pup again and the scolding only added to his irritation. He never realized until too late that this had been his last chance to save what little friendship there was left between them.


	3. Chapter 3

Another installment and another step forward...

* * *

"Kagome," a deep voice intoned behind her. The young woman turned sharply, startled by his sudden appearance. She gave him a smile and he returned it, sitting beside her on the banister of the porch. The night was cold but she was properly bundled so he didn't need to scold her back into the house quite yet. He could tell she was glad to see him despite the fact that he was interrupting her solitude. It worried him, the way she had been acting recently. Withdrawn and not nearly as quick to smile as they were all used to. "You've been out here a lot the last few weeks, Little One."

'Yea. I like watching the snow,' she responded, her hands gracefully fluttering downward in the sign for snow as she blushed at his persistent nickname for her. The older youkai smiled softly at her child-like joy in something so simple, something they all usually took for granted. 'We haven't talked in a long time,' she told him with a sad sort of smile, 'How are you?'

"I'm fine. How have you been?" The look on her face told him immediately that she didn't want to answer but she hid it quickly. She tapped the thumb of her right hand, her fingers all spread wide, to her sternum. The sign for 'fine.' Toga frowned slightly, knowing she was lying. That she felt the need to lie to him made him even more worried. "Little One…" His tone was soft and slightly pleading, making it clear that he wanted the truth out of her. Kagome turned away from him and the inuyoukai quickly smelled the scent of tears. With a gentle hand he drew the young woman close to his side, eventually turning her to press her face into his chest. He held her for some time as she silently sobbed. The absence of sound as she cried made his heart ache. Why had fate been so cruel to this young woman? A beautiful, intelligent girl with a heart big enough to forgive any hurt with grace and dignity.

It took her several minutes to calm herself enough to do so, but eventually she signed the one thing he'd been concerned was the problem. 'Inuyasha, Kikyo,' her fingers told him. Toga sighed and he nodded, squeezing her against his side in a hug.

"I'm sorry Little One. We tried to tell him to wait longer to ask her but… You know Inuyasha. That son of mine is as stubborn as they come." She nodded but said nothing as she continued to cling to him. "I know you care for him a great deal and sometimes I don't think he deserves it." He paused, taking a deep breath before he spoke again. "You love him don't you?" he whispered. Kagome stiffened in surprise, her wide brown eyes turning up to look at him. He died a little inside to see the pain that lay there in those eyes which usually glowed with happiness and compassion. He was pretty sure he'd known the answer before he asked but her reaction only solidified the truth. With no consoling advice to give Toga sat with her in the chill night for a long time, the two of them watching the snow as it fell around them. The world was slowly blanketed in a soft hush as the snow coated the ground and the trees. The Taiyoukai couldn't help the way the silent snow reminded him of the young woman next to him. Beautiful and sad… "It will be alright Little One," he finally whispered, unsure of what else to tell her. Kagome sighed and cast him a faintly disbelieving look in the dark. Toga said no more for fear of telling her things he had no right promising. His son was a fool…

* * *

This time she wasn't going to take it. Kikyo was coming for another visit and Kagome was sick of the girl's two-faced personality. She was tired of being told she was useless, stupid and so obviously not worth Inuyasha's affection. After all, Kikyo was the one with the ring on her finger, wasn't she? Kagome knew that part of why Kikyo's words stung so much was because she believed them herself. She had never been good enough for Inuyasha but she had been lucky to gain him as a close friend and protector. Now she had lost him. As soon as Kikyo sunk her claws into him he was gone. Kagome had no delusions, she wouldn't be able to get him back after this. The two would be married and she would be left broken. So she left before it could happen that way. It had been a scary trip for her and only with Miroku's connections and help had she been able to manage it. Now she was on a plane set for Japan. While she was excited to see her homeland, she knew she would miss her family and the friends she had made in the United States. Sota had made special arrangements to come in for the night to see her off and the two had shared a tear-filled goodbye.

'Don't worry. I'll write and once you finish your undergraduate work in a few years you can come visit me.' Sota tried one last time to convince his sister to stay but she wouldn't hear it. Kagome wasn't one to go back on her promises, even ones made just to herself. She had made up her mind and there was no turning back now. Even Miroku had tried to change her mind in the airport, telling her that she could still try. 'I can't Miroku. I'm tired of all of it. Maybe living in the temple will help me find some kind of peace.' The two had embraced before she boarded the plane. Miroku had waited around until long after the plane had left, somehow hoping she would come back and try again. But she was determined to move on and far away.

Once on the plane Kagome had allowed herself to break down and truly cry. Cry out her pain, cry for her loss and cry because she was exhausted. Eventually she'd fallen asleep almost until it was time to land and change planes. The second flight was easily twice as long as the first and so she had even more time to contemplate her disastrous life and the loving people she was leaving behind. The one that hurt the most to leave, other than Inuyasha, was Toga. He had been so kind to her, given her everything she could ever have wanted and even tried to be a stand in father for her and Sota. Kagome hated the fact that she hadn't been able to say goodbye to him or Izayoi in person, leaving notes for each of them in their bedroom expressing her thanks and telling them not to worry about her, that she was going to try to make it on her own for a while.

Another note had been sent to Sesshomaru in New York though she doubted he would read it. That was the hope. He was the only one besides Miroku who would know exactly where she was going in case some kind of family emergency occurred. Sota knew she was going back to Japan but that was as much as she'd told him. Kagome didn't trust her brother not to tell anyone where she planned to start her new life. Sesshomaru wouldn't tell a soul. Especially not Inuyasha. If anything he would thrive on being able to withhold the information from his younger brother, taunting the hanyou, as he was prone to do. Thinking of Inuyasha brought on yet another wave of pain in her heart. Curling up in the relatively large airplane seat, Kagome pressed her forehead against the cool window.

All she'd wanted was for him to love her. She'd thought for a long time that he did, that she was the only woman in his life other than his mother. Then college had come and he'd left her alone to finish high school and then attend a junior college. She liked school but home was another story. Her brother tried to keep her company but soon she realized it wasn't enough. She missed Inuyasha. Then he'd met Kikyo and Kagome knew that she'd waited too long to tell him how she felt. He would never see her as a woman now, only as a girl he was friends with, close with. A sister. She couldn't have been more right in her opinion. He'd become increasingly absorbed in his relationship with Kikyo until that was nearly all he could talk to her about. That was the last thing she wanted to hear. Inuyasha was the only one for her, she'd known it since the day she'd been brought into his home unconscious and he'd said he thought she was pretty. But he never saw it the way she did. He treated her like a sister, a best friend… one of the guys. She could never be someone he would consider courting. Even now, after years of knowing the truth, it still hurt to think it, admit it to herself.

The truth had almost literally come in the form of a slap to the face. The third or fourth time Kikyo had come to visit, Kagome was still unclear on how many visits had been made, the slightly elder young woman had cornered the mute girl and told her to stay away from Inuyasha. Kagome had been outraged. Unable to tell her to go to hell Kagome had turned and tried to walk away from the situation. "He'll never love you." The young raven-haired woman had frozen, not even bothering to glance back at the woman spouting her disgust at her. "Who could ever want a mute girl?" Kagome had been sorely tempted to turn around and give the girl a piece of her mind and a large hunk of her fist but had realized that whatever she wanted to say to the woman would fall on deaf eyes. Kikyo would never understand her and more than likely wouldn't ever try. Kagome had felt then how truly lonely her world would be if Inuyasha stayed with Kikyo and forgot all about her. That had been the driving force that had turned her around, glaring at Kikyo and radiating her anger. Then Kikyo had slapped her. Without provocation. Kagome had been more than a little shocked. "Don't presume to be mad at me girl," she spat, "the only one you have to blame is yourself for getting your hopes up." Not that long after Inuyasha had proposed to the evil woman Kagome had made her plans to get as far away from the pain and despair she felt as she could. To get away from the one who hurt her most by not protecting her from the one whom he loved instead of her.

The plane landed and Kagome was grateful to get off. Once she had gone through customs and retrieved her luggage, she was happy to find a hefty old man in monk's robes holding a sign with her name on it. He was bald and had a slightly red nose and very kind eyes. _Mushin._ He smiled when she approached him and said nothing until he was able to get her a pad of paper and pencil. "How was your flight my dear?" he asked her. She smiled and nodded, glad to be able to get her point across without the paper even if it had been provided. Her Japanese was a little rusty so she was worried she would write the wrong characters. She was looking forward to the prospect of living in the temple under a "vow of silence." It had been Miroku's idea and a quick fix to her inability for speech. Now she wouldn't have to worry about visitors to the temple or the other monks asking invasive questions.


	4. Chapter 4

Hope everyone in the US had a happy Fourth! Our local fireworks got rained out so we just listened to the fire trucks and ambulances circle our part of the city as people persisted in trying to blow themselves and their houses up... On to Chapter 4!

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Three years. Kagome had been missing for three long years. Inuyasha thought vaguely, _I'm slowly going mad._ The last time he had smelled her scent in any pretense of freshness had been over two years ago, just before her scent finally faded from her pillows after months of her absence. For months he had searched for her within the states of Kansas and Missouri, home to the city she and his family had been living in for the ten years before she disappeared. He hadn't found a single clue. At one point last year he'd found airline accommodations to San Francisco in her name from the same time she'd left but he hadn't been able to find out where she'd gone after that or when exactly she may have taken a second flight. All he knew was that she wasn't anywhere to be found in California either. After three years his fiancee had left him, telling him that she couldn't wait around for him to find Kagome in order for them to plan their wedding. But Inuyasha refused to get married without Kagome there. When he came to his senses he was supposed to let her know but he wasn't to think that she would wait around for him. Inuyasha didn't expect her to.

Finding Kagome had become an obsession. Any clue he might find, any lead he came across was almost immediately followed in hopes that he would quickly discover her whereabouts. He had no such luck. He couldn't find her anywhere in the United States and he was beginning to lose hope. Nowhere else in the world would they be able to understand her signing and even in the States it would be a very small percentage of the population that would even know what she was doing if she asked for help. The hanyou was growing more and more frustrated and he felt like his world was crashing down around his ears. His parents had known she'd left. Notes had been placed on their pillows. Miroku had tried to warn him that she would leave but the stubborn hanyou hadn't listened. He kicked himself everyday for that blunder. Sota seemed to have an idea where she was but wouldn't tell him as he'd been sworn to secrecy. Inuyasha had begged, pleaded, and even threatened the young man who was more like his brother than his blood half sibling. Nothing. Sesshomaru even knew, taunting Inuyasha with the fact that he knew where Kagome was and that he had no intention of telling him. Inuyasha had been very willing to give anything and everything he owned for the knowledge but Miroku had stepped in and saved him the embarrassment of dropping to his knees and begging his elder brother to tell him where he could find Kagome.

Now he was boarding a plane to Japan in a last ditch effort to find her. Miroku had dropped some hints that he might find her there, along with the slip-ups Sota had let by the last few months. The two had obviously been able to tell by his distress that he was falling apart at the seams. The inuhanyou was coming undone and without Kagome to soothe him he wasn't going to last the month let alone the rest of his long life. Inuyasha had come to quite a few realizations about himself in the last couple of years and knowing he couldn't survive without Kagome was one of them. She meant more to him than he had ever been willing to admit, even to himself, until now. So Miroku had helped him book a flight to Japan and planned to join him a day or two later. Inuyasha greatly appreciated that at least one of his friends hadn't completely abandoned him.

Spending his few days alone in a place he hadn't been in almost fourteen years had been all the more stressful for the hanyou, especially with how anti-youkai Japan had become in the last five years or so. Toga had been right to move his family and a part of him that he ignored for the time being was glad his father had uprooted them from Japan and taken them to the States to avoid all the persecution and prejudice directed at those with youkai blood. His money was still good no matter what but Miroku had helped him book hotels that were more youkai and hanyou friendly. Inuyasha would never quite understand how his old friend had such good connections in far off places but decided that it didn't matter as long as he was able to continue his search for Kagome.

As far as he was aware she was nowhere to be found. No one he asked knew of a Higurashi Kagome and none of the demons he could find recognized her scent. That meant that she wasn't there or they simply hadn't run across her. It wasn't too hard to fathom seeing as Japan was so densely populated, especially in the urban areas. That was a hell of a lot of scents to sort through let alone pick out a singular and personal scent from a t-shirt that's scent was so faded to begin with. Eventually, once Miroku had joined him, Inuyasha was able to find out that Kagome had in fact entered the country three years prior and that as far as the government was aware, she hadn't left it. Given some new hope he renewed his search with vigor, hunting down every lead and pursuing anyone that might possibly have seen her. Finally it all came down to a few city blocks, the one surrounding her family shrine and the blocks surrounding his father's old home. Neither area seemed to show much promise until Miroku mentioned that his mentor's shrine wasn't too far from where Kagome used to live.

At that point in time Inuyasha had been willing to try anything, not realizing until much later that Miroku had known just a bit too much about where he might have been able to find his best friend. The temple gates were the only thing that stood between him and where he hoped he would find Kagome and for some reason Inuyasha was having a hard time taking the first step. It wasn't that he feared being rejected by the temple's barrier but more that he feared his search there would turn up nothing and he would leave empty handed again. He wasn't sure his heart could take this kind of disappointment for much longer. Taking a step toward the entry, the inuhanyou took a deep breath as he strode through the barrier without a problem. Almost immediately he was assaulted by the smells of food being prepared somewhere, the flowers in the garden and a far too familiar scent to just be a coincidence lingering among those of the monks. Kagome was here. Now he had only to find her and everything would be alright.

It hadn't taken him long to find his long lost friend and once he did Inuyasha just stood, staring at her for several moments. Her hair was longer, much longer, her figure was trimmer and there was something… sad about her scent, but it was still his Kagome. Tending to a small vegetable garden in the afternoon light, she looked peaceful and absolutely beautiful. He hardly knew how to approach her. Miroku had made the first move, stepping up to her and giving her a light tap on the shoulder. 'Miroku!' she smiled, making the name sign she had given him years ago. Her eyes lit up and Inuyasha watched with envy as she hugged the young man. The two stopped conversing in sign when Kagome finally noticed his stiff form. Her hands stilled and she stared at him for several minutes. 'What is he doing here?' she signed to Miroku, seemingly pretending that he wasn't there to see what she was saying.

Inuyasha grunted faintly, finally coming out of his daze to take a few steps in her direction. She watched him somewhat warily, a lack of the warmth for him in her eyes like there used to be. It hurt to have her look at him like that, almost more than her absence had. She had changed. Inuyasha made his way until he stood before her then dropped to his knees. "Kagome," the hanyou let out in a dry sob.

Miroku watched his two friends reunite, wincing when Kagome's face twisted in pain. She didn't want to give in, she didn't want to feel anything for him but her heart was too big and too forgiving, forcing the young woman to crouch down and hug her best friend to her. She made gentle hushing noises and reached up to tentatively pet his hanyou friend's ears. The inuhanyou held her closer, obviously terrified that she would slip from his grasp if he ever loosened his hold. Finally he pulled back far enough to look into her eyes, holding her face between his hands and staring at her as if to memorize her every feature. 'What? Do I have something on my face?' Kagome signed, a small smirk on her lips.

"Have you been here all this time?"

'All this time… Have you been looking for me since I left?' she asked him incredulously, the disbelief obvious in her eyes. Inuyasha's golden eyes widened considerably and his mouth opened and closed for a moment.

"Of course I have baka! I had no idea where you'd gone, why you'd left, when you were coming back. You could have been dead and I wouldn't have known!" Kagome looked away, unable to face the pain he displayed so openly. Was he still so clueless to her pain as well? Was he so dense that he didn't know why she'd left?

'I'm fine. I've made my life here. The monks helped me train my miko powers so I can protect myself and I have everything I need here.' Inuyasha stared at her in amazement. 'Miroku made sure I made it here safely. He even came to visit last year,' she finished, a brilliant smile sent in the young man's direction. Miroku took a step back, a frightened look on his face, pulling at his collar nervously. A pair of amber eyes turned his way, glaring. Kagome was released after a moment as Inuyasha began stalking toward his long time friend, growling low in his throat.

"You knew all along and you didn't tell me? You waited three years just to drop hints! You… you…" Inuyasha was reduced to a snarling beast, backing Miroku into the wall of one of the smaller buildings. Kagome finally shook off her confusion and approached the feral inuhanyou. Placing a gentle hand on his back startled him and he spun, ready to attack her mindlessly. But he stopped himself and Kagome looked unaffected. She was used to his outbursts. Granted she hadn't seen him this bad in a long time but she knew now as she'd known then he wouldn't hurt her. He froze, staring at her in fear and confusion.

'Inuyasha, you need to leave. I don't know why you're here but you'll disturb the balance the monks try to maintain here.' Growling a moment, more at himself, Inuyasha hung his head. Reaching out his hand he waited for Kagome to take it. When she didn't he looked up at her. She looked faintly confused but more than anything she looked unsure. He needed to touch her, to hold her, to keep smelling her scent. When she still wouldn't reach out for him in return he let his shoulders sag, staring at her brokenly. 'I can't do this Inuyasha,' she told him. The hanyou didn't know what she meant.

He pleaded with her to let them talk somewhere and she sighed, glancing off to the side for a moment before looking back into his eyes and nodding. She led her two friends to the small room the monks had been kind enough to let her stay in for the last three years. Miroku followed behind his stricken friend, noticing that Inuyasha was much closer to his breaking point than he had been before finding Kagome. It had been their hope, his, Sota's and Inuyasha's parents', that seeing her again would raise his spirits but her obvious rejection of him was causing the inuhanyou to fall deeper into his depression. Miroku knew she still loved him, she'd broken down and told him as much during his last visit, but she wasn't willing to stay Inuyasha's friend and only his friend. She wanted more from Inuyasha and unless he was willing to give her that, she would disappear from his life again because she thought it was what was best for him. The young man hoped the hanyou would realize the truth before it was too late for them both.


	5. Chapter 5

This is actually a continuation of the last chapter (aka in the same time frame) but it was too long as all one chapter. Enjoy!

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Her room was tidy and very simple. Other than the normal futon, the only furniture in the room was a low chest of drawers. On top of its polished surface sat several pictures that he recognized. She and Sota at Sota's graduation, his parents caught snuggling on the living room couch, an old family portrait of the whole Higurashi family that had been saved from their home. The only one he didn't remember was a shot taken of him and Miroku throwing popcorn at one another, Sesshomaru standing in the background with a look of disgust on his face. The hanyou grinned slightly at the memories they portrayed. These were obviously important to Kagome, the only decorations in the room. She had lived here for three years and all she had to define the room as hers were a few old photos? Inuyasha took a seat on the floor next to Miroku and across from Kagome, watching her intensely. He was still confused. Why had she left, why had she made sure that he specifically didn't know where she'd gone? He didn't think it was because she hated him because she certainly wouldn't have held him earlier nor would she have stroked his ears like that. Finally he worked up the nerve to ask her why she'd left. 'What did I do wrong?' he signed to her, his golden eyes wide and sad. Somehow it felt wrong to talk inside, a silence pervading the building that the outdoors didn't imply.

Kagome sighed, looking away as she obviously tried to collect her thoughts. Inuyasha could smell the conflict in her scent, her pain, her anger, her confusion. He wanted so badly to reach out and touch her like he'd been able to when they were younger but he restrained himself and waited for her to answer his question. 'I wanted you to be happy,' she responded simply, as if that answered everything.

'Happy? You disappeared! I… I was frantic!' he signed fervently, biting his tongue to keep from shouting at her. Yelling wouldn't get them anywhere. She shook her head at him, indicating that that wasn't what she'd meant. 'Then what are you talking about? Is this… is this about Kikyo?' The inuhanyou saw her flinch at the name and instantly understood what had made her leave, or more accurately, who. 'She was supposed to come visit the week after you left. I never even made the connection.' Kagome glanced away from him, obviously unable to meet his eyes. 'I still don't get why you left.' Miroku grunted next to him and shook his head, anger in his scent as well. Inuyasha frowned. Miroku rarely showed his anger and it shocked him some to notice it in him now. Was there something he had completely missed?

'It doesn't matter.'

'Of course it matters!'

'You couldn't have fixed it,' she insisted, 'you two are happy together.' Miroku glanced away. He had tried to explain to Kagome before that Kikyo had been getting impatient to wed Inuyasha some time ago but when he'd last been to visit her the hanyou's fiancee had still been around so he hadn't wanted to get her hopes up. Kagome caught on to his look before looking back at Inuyasha. 'You… you got married right?' she asked with shaking hands, whether from her emotion in asking the question or her fear of the answer, he wasn't sure. Inuyasha shook his head, staring somewhat sullenly at his hands. Kagome stood abruptly, going to stand at the small window that allowed light into the room. The pair of males watched her in silence, one completely unsure of her thoughts and the other knowing she needed time to process this information.

"She left," Inuyasha whispered to her back, hanging his head as he relived the moment Kikyo had decided he wasn't worth the wait. At the time he'd been so frenzied with trying to find Kagome, so determined to locate his friend that he hadn't even managed to feel upset about Kikyo's departure from his life. "I can't keep living like this Inuyasha," she'd told him, "you have to decide. It's either her or me." He'd looked at her blankly, confused beyond reason. Why was there such a dire decision to be made? He was looking for Kagome because she wasn't where she should be and he had made a promise to protect her a long time ago. Kikyo was his fiancee and they were to be wed as soon as he found his best friend. But his would-be wife wouldn't hear of it, stomping out of the room and never looking back. She had thrown over her shoulder that he should find her if he ever changed his mind.

'I'm sorry,' Kagome signed without turning from the window. The inuhanyou finally stood and approached her in silence. She glanced at his face. She saw such suffering there. Was it from Kikyo or did his hurt run deeper? She hoped that he wasn't hurting from her sudden disappearance. She had hoped to spare him pain by leaving but as she fell into his deep amber eyes she realized that she had only tried to escape her own and had caused more in the process. 'I'm sorry,' she repeated for a different offense. He only stared at her, slowly gliding closer. Kagome was so caught up in his eyes that she didn't notice the motion until he had his arms around her and he had buried his nose in the side of her neck. His left ear flicked against the corner of her left eye, forcing her to close them both as she settled into his embrace. It felt good to be held by him, to have his warmth wrapped around her and his unique scent filling her nose. She could feel his youki fluttering somewhat erratically and Kagome felt her aura automatically try to soothe the agitated hanyou in her arms. She had been doing it for ten years of her life unknowingly and now that she had conscious control over it, it hardly mattered. Soothing Inuyasha was second nature to her and she realized that maybe without her he had felt the difference.

"I missed you so much," he whispered into her hair. He smelled tears come to her eyes and held her tighter. A selfish part of him didn't want her to say anything to ruin this but when she pushed gently against him with her shoulder, he knew he had to let go, if only a little. Looking down into her tear-filled eyes was almost as hard as it had been letting her walk out of the room that day he proposed to Kikyo. He still didn't understand everything, only that his engagement had more or less been the breaking point in his relationship with Kagome and in the end it had lost him both women. Inuyasha only knew that losing Kagome had been more painful and more terrifying than having Kikyo walk out of his life. So maybe that meant he cared for her more. "Please come back with me," he murmured. Kagome's eyes widened and more tears slipped down her cheeks. She mouthed his name, trying to pull away from him. "Please Kagome. Come home with me." She sighed, looking away for a moment. Seeing that she was at least thinking it over the hanyou let her go enough so she could use her hands.

'You need to know everything before you ask me that.'

"What is there to know?" By this point Miroku had gotten up as well and was standing near the pair but far enough back to give them some privacy. Inuyasha looked to him to see if he knew anything and saw a grim look on the dark-haired man's face. _What's so serious that even Miroku looks afraid to tell me?_ Kagome tried to turn away from him again but he held her hips in his hands. "Tell me."

"You're going to be angry Inuyasha," Miroku told him in a soft voice.

'Don't Miroku,' Kagome suddenly interjected.

"He has the right to know Kagome," he responded firmly.

'No. It will only make him angry.'

"Just tell me," the hanyou interrupted, not letting the two dark-haired humans continue arguing. Kagome froze immediately, looking away from both men and crossing her arms angrily over her chest. The familiarity of the stubborn gesture made Inuyasha smile a little. She'd gotten that from him. When he looked over at Miroku the man nodded and took a deep breath. "Is he allowed to tell me or are you going to do it?" he asked Kagome. She shrugged, uncooperative. Inuyasha rolled his eyes but pulled the young woman down with him as he sat. She fell into his lap and the inuhanyou had no intention of letting her leave her spot until Miroku was finished telling him what was so important. She struggled a moment but a firm growl from him stilled her squirming until she rested back against him in resigned silence. The two stared at the young man across from them as he too sat and seemingly debated his choice of words.

"Kagome, you really should be the one telling him this." She shook her head and Miroku sighed. She was as stubborn as Inuyasha when it came to these things. "Fine. Kagome and Kikyo didn't get along very well." Inuyasha snorted. He'd known as much and he'd always thought it was Kagome's unwillingness to get to know his girlfriend turned fiancee that had been the root of the problem. "Apparently Kikyo had a problem with Kagome's… silence, shall we say?" Miroku stated in his attempt at diplomacy. Inuyasha's eyebrows shot up before he tried to get a look into Kagome's face. She turned away from him, keeping their eyes from meeting.

"What do you mean?"

"Kikyo used to corner Kagome to insult her. She told her she was… Do I really have to repeat this Kagome? I hate thinking about these things let alone saying them," he pleaded with the young woman. She shrugged, once again trying to distance herself from the situation. In truth she was writhing inside, wanting to run away and hide so she wouldn't have to see the pity in Inuyasha's eyes, or worse… his agreement. Inuyasha motioned for Miroku to go on so she had no real say in what happened. The young human man sighed deeply, a habit he had come into in the last hour it seemed, before looking away. "She called Kagome a mute, told her she was stupid, told her that she wasn't worth all the affection you so obviously held for her. She told Kagome to stay away from you, that she had already infected you with her 'stupid language' as she called it." Kagome felt the hanyou flinch at nearly every word then the tightening of his arms around her as he blatantly tried to protect her from the pain the memories brought back. But it was too late. He hadn't protected her then and so she had to live with that hurt. She wanted to forgive him, she really did, but could she allow herself to be swept up into his life again and not break completely when he either went back to Kikyo or found someone else entirely?

"Why didn't you tell me?" he uttered in a broken whisper.

'You love her. I wasn't going to mess that up for you.'

"That doesn't matter! You should have told me she was… Jesus Kagome!" he seethed futilely. She sat in his arms completely still, waiting for him to continue. He'd hardly known he had more to say until the words slipped unbidden from his lips. "I promised to protect you. You have always been my first priority, since the day my father brought you into our house and laid you in that bed. You should have told me," he finished, tucking his nose into the space behind her left ear.

'I couldn't. If I told you… you might have agreed with her.'

"WHAT?" At his enraged shout Kagome's hand flew over his mouth, effectively quieting him. 'I would never agree with anyone about that! You're not stupid, you're smarter than I could ever be. I'm the one who's worthless. I don't deserve to call you my friend,' he signed when she refused to take her hand from his lips.

'Don't start that,' she chided.

"Do you want me to tell him the rest Kagome?" Miroku chimed in before the two could start arguing about that as well. Both turned to look at him, Kagome with fear and Inuyasha with curiosity. Kagome began to protest, trying to say that he was mistaken, that there wasn't anything else. Inuyasha gripped her hands tightly to effectively stop her. The raven-haired young woman stared at him angrily until Miroku began to speak again. "There was one time… Kikyo struck Kagome."

"Huh?" was Inuyasha's intelligent reply. Neither Kagome nor Miroku were sure if he hadn't understood or for some reason hadn't heard him.

Miroku gulped slightly as Kagome went completely lax in Inuyasha's arms. All the fight had gone out of her and he almost didn't want to clarify his statement. But the look in the hanyou's eyes wouldn't allow him to stay silent. Miroku wouldn't allow himself to stay silent, having held onto this information for too long. "She slapped Kagome. She didn't tell me about it until last year. It happened before you proposed to Kikyo." There was a stretched stillness as Inuyasha seemed to process the information. Then the beast within broke loose. Kagome could barely hold on as Inuyasha rose instantly to his feet with her held tightly in his arms. The hanyou marched out of the room, through the hallways and out into the courtyard. Looking around uncertainly he finally found a tall tree and leaped high into its branches. When no one could see them from the ground without trying hard he settled against the trunk with Kagome in his lap and simply held her.

For some time he said and did nothing, simply holding her tightly to his chest and growling angrily. Kagome didn't try to make him speak, recognizing the state he was in. His youki was telling enough to let her know that there were more than likely jagged purple stripes on his cheeks, that his eyes had probably bled red and that his fangs were most likely longer, hanging over his bottom lip menacingly. Kagome could faintly hear Miroku at the bottom of the tree trying to get them to come down, but she knew that Inuyasha would sit up here for several days if it came to it. His youkai instincts sensed that he, or more probably she, was in danger and so he automatically resorted to the flight instinct in order to keep them both safe. He'd done it on more than one occasion at home and she doubted it would be the last time if he remained in her life in the future. Knowing what it took to calm him, Kagome slowly lifted one hand. He didn't move to stop her but his growl changed slightly, telling her he knew what she was doing but wouldn't make a move to keep her from doing so. She softly took one ear between her fingertips as she ran them gently up and down the downy fur on the back and the petal-soft inner part of his ear. As she continued her ministrations his growl became more tender, quieter and less feral. It was working. Unfortunately for Kagome she hadn't been prepared for him to react in a completely different way than he ever had before.

Unsure of how it had happened, Kagome found herself pulled tightly against Inuyasha's chest, her legs straddling his hips. His growl returned but it was in a pitch she had never heard him use before, a cadence she didn't recognize. His nose was once again buried in the crook of her neck while his tongue softly slipped across her skin. Most shocking was the press of something foreign and yet entirely too welcome between her legs. Kagome wasn't naive, nor was she stupid, but it was certainly something she had never experienced before. As soon as she tried to stop rubbing the fur covered appendage, which had brought on this reaction in the first place, Inuyasha nipped her neck more vehemently, forcing a silent gasp from her lungs and her fingers back into motion on his ear. _What are you doing Inuyasha?_ Her thoughts were desperate as she tried to remain distant from the situation at the same time. Inuyasha was not doing this to her, he was not trying to mate with her! But the firm press of his arousal against her and the continuation of his attentions to her throat and now her shoulder proved otherwise. _You can't do this to me… I was just starting to tell myself I didn't love you anymore,_ her mind whimpered even as her hips unconsciously moved against the hanyou's. His growl was low and very obviously pleased at her reaction, his nips and kisses on her skin increasing in passion. "Kagome," he muttered.

Kagome froze. She'd thought he was still under the influence of his youkai instincts, but as his face rose and she could see in his eyes it was obvious that he had been clearheaded for some time. Shaking her head slightly, she wanted to pull from his arms, but he wouldn't let her. She wanted to be angry with him for… she didn't know what for… but her heart wouldn't allow her to. 'How could you? You love her,' she signed, biting her lip as tears slid silently down her cheeks. 'Don't do this to me! I can't let myself…' she paused, holding back a soundless sob, 'I can't let myself love you again.' Watching her hands as they traced sorrow-filled lines so full of painful beauty, Inuyasha's eyes grew wide. Stopping her hands against his chest before she could say anything more, he looked earnestly into her deep, glassy brown eyes.

"I don't love her. I haven't for some time. You're all I think about, you're all I dream about. My youki searches for you, howls at me to be with you." Gulping back a sob of his own, Inuyasha took his best friend's captured hands and lifted them to his lips. He placed soft kisses on each finger before holding them against his heart once more. "I can't live my life without you Kagome. I've been dying inside for three years and just now I finally felt my heart beating again." Kagome took a deep breath and let out a shuddering sob as she freed her hands from his grasp and threw them around his neck. She cried without a sound into his chest for several minutes while Inuyasha gently ran his claws through her hair and growled as comfortingly as he knew how. There was no doubt in his mind now. Kagome loved him and he had years to prove to her that he loved her if only she would agree to come home with him. He would spend the rest of their lives showing her how much she meant to him.

'I can't,' she signed after finally calming her tears. Her arms seemed weak, too tired to lift her hands in the usually simple signs. Inuyasha growled lowly.

"You can and you will. You trusted me once. I have to hope that whatever trust you held in me isn't completely broken." He paused, staring into her face with a determined look she had never seen so close before. "Whatever love you may have felt or might still feel for me… don't let it die Kagome. Not when I can show you how much I need you. How much I… I love you Kagome." Her eyes widened, staring into the golden depths of the man in front of her. Never in her life had she even hoped to be told those words by him, in any of the three languages they knew. And yet here they were, slipping from his lips and falling on her ears like the softest caress. She felt breathless, her heart racing as she fought to draw air into her lungs.

'Inuyasha,' she drew out his name sign, tears filling her eyes even while she smiled at him. Her right hand rose to his face, her thumb trailing lightly over his lower lip. The hanyou continued to watch her, fascinated by the play of emotion in her eyes. His lip tingled from her touch while the taste of her skin still pleased his tongue. He wanted to taste so much more, to experience every inch of her body. Inuyasha froze when Kagome leaned closer, her hips unknowingly rolling against his as she brought her lips to his. He accepted her kiss readily despite his surprise and let his hand trail up her spine to cradle her head. Her hair drifted over the back of his hand, tickling the soft skin there. She was utterly responsive, her hands sliding up and over his shoulders to dip her fingers into his hair so she could press his mouth more firmly against hers. Tilting her head slightly using his thumb, Inuyasha was granted access with his tongue to her wonderful mouth. He traced her lower lip before finding her teeth and finally her own tongue. He growled excitedly as his kiss gained in enthusiasm. This was better than he could have hoped.

A loud shout shook the pair out of their passion. Kagome barely reacted in time with a barrier as an ofuda flew with surprising speed toward them. The ofuda sizzled upon touching the barrier, glowing brightly before dissipating. Kagome gasped at the shock to her system, her eyes staring down through the foliage wildly. "What the fuck!" Inuyasha yelled, startling her from her bewilderment. "Are you alright?" She nodded quickly, but the force of the power colliding with her own had shaken her. She motioned for her hanyou companion to get them down. He made it clear he thought it was a bad idea but did as asked, gently lifting her into his arms and alighting on a lower branch before landing on the dusty path beneath the tree.

"Are you alright Kagome-sama?" one of the younger monks questioned her fearfully, looking at the snarling hanyou clinging to her hip. She nodded, looking toward the one she knew had thrown the ofuda.

"I'm sorry Kagome, things were getting out of hand. The monks were having trouble with both your aura and Inuyasha's youki flaring all over the place," Miroku informed her, a chastising look turned on his silver-haired friend. "And you! Taking her up there! You could have dropped her you idiot!" Inuyasha snarled fiercely, kept at bay only by Kagome's hand on his chest.

'Enough you two.' Her signs caught the monks off guard, curious eyes turning on the silent miko they had known for several years now. 'Miroku, take Inuyasha out. Let me know what hotel you are staying in and I will join you soon.' Inuyasha, about to argue, was silenced abruptly when Kagome turned her fierce eyes on him. While he was glad that the sadness he'd seen in her gaze since he found her was gone, the anger she was directing at him was not what he wanted to see. 'You've caused enough trouble here. I will meet you at your hotel soon,' she told him firmly, not allowing him to argue. He wanted to, he really did. But Kagome had the right to set her affairs straight before she came home with him. And while he didn't want to admit it, he knew she was right. He had caused more than enough trouble for the monks.


	6. Chapter 6

Hello everyone, hope your summer went well. I just started a new job. My first big girl, real person, job! Enjoy the new chapter.

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Kagome was terribly nervous. Even with Inuyasha at her side, his hand clinging tightly to her own, his gentle words in her ear, the young woman couldn't help her anxiety. For the first time in three years she would see her family again. She couldn't imagine what Toga and Izayoi would have to say to her. Would they be upset with her for causing their son pain for so long? Would they be happy to see her? Indifferent? No matter which emotion they displayed upon her arrival Kagome couldn't help feeling excited as well. It would be good to see them, even if they didn't want to see her. Inuyasha had already called ahead to tell his parents they were coming straight from the airport and Kagome's hands fidgeted in loose approximations of signs as her mind raced. "They're excited to see you," Inuyasha whispered in her ear again, knowing she was upset. She nodded absently while she stared out the car window.

'I hope you're right,' she signed in front of herself, not necessarily to him but he saw it anyway. The last five miles before the house came into view were nearly excruciating for Kagome, her hands gripping the seat under her tightly. As the large house, exactly the way she remembered it, began to appear over the hill which hid it from the main road Kagome took a deep breath and let it out. There was no turning back now. She would have to face her past completely. Accepting Inuyasha's proposal to come back with him and try again had been the first step in a long journey she wasn't sure she was entirely ready to make. It had seemed so easy at the time. Just hop on a plane with her few belongings, Inuyasha's hand holding her own, and go back to the United States. But once the plane took off the young woman began to realize all the things that came along with that. Seeing the people who had raised her and must be disappointed in her, seeing her brother again, returning to a world where she would almost constantly be required to communicate... It was a lot more than she had anticipated.

Toga was standing at the door when the car pulled up to the house. His amber eyes, wizened but not old, watched as his youngest son got out of the car and walked around the hood to open the door for the young woman in the passenger seat. She took his hand and smiled somewhat weakly at the inuhanyou. The Taiyoukai could practically feel her anxiousness from where he stood and he smiled softly. "Koishii, they're here," he called to his wife. She stood from where she was nervously reading in the living room, dropping the book carelessly in prospects of seeing Kagome again. "She's so nervous," he murmured as he took his mate under his arm. She nodded, noticing the telltale behavior the young woman was displaying as she waited for Inuyasha to get their things from the trunk.

A few minutes passed and the couple finally gathered their luggage from the car and made their way to the front step. Toga opened the glass door and stepped out to take the things his son held, setting them inside before taking his boy's hand in greeting. "Hey Dad," Inuyasha greeted, going the extra mile and sweeping his arm around his father's shoulders in a quick hug. He let go to hug his mother as well, laughing at her tears. "Come on Mom, don't cry," he chuckled, wiping her cheeks gently. Izayoi smiled at her son before stepping around him to finally greet Kagome.

The silent girl stood awestruck, completely frozen by the gaze of the man who had raised her. His golden eyes bored into her, digging for the words she couldn't say aloud. "Oh Kagome dear," Izayoi interrupted, hugging her and crying all over again. Kagome smiled slightly, hugging the older woman back. It was good to be hugged again. "We've missed you." Kagome couldn't help nodding and smiling at Inuyasha's mother. After a moment more of hugging and weeping Inuyasha pulled his mother back to lead her into the house and Kagome was left to face her surrogate father on her own.

"Hello Little One," he whispered in the same deep and soothing voice he'd always had. Kagome, who had been holding up pretty well up until this point, broke down in tears and nearly flung herself into the inuyoukai's arms. He caught her easily and hugged her tightly, gently stroking her hair and hushing her. "It's alright, hush now," he murmured. It took several minutes, but she finally did manage to settle her silent sobs. "It is so good to have you home."

'Thank you. It's good to be home.' Toga smiled, having understood her.

"Come on then, Inuyasha's probably itching to come get you. He hates you being out of his sight." At his words Kagome flinched, cringing back from the doorway and the large man who softly held her arm.

'I hurt him,' she signed when Toga turned to question her reluctance to follow. He sighed but nodded. 'I thought I was making things better, but I was wrong.'

"I know Little One. You would never hurt my son on purpose, just like he would never let harm come to you if he could prevent it. But he caused you pain as well and he is dealing with that guilt just like you are." He smiled slightly. "You two have been protecting one another since the day you joined our family and I doubt that will ever stop. However, you're both despairingly stubborn, am I right?" he said with a twinkle in his eye. The young miko blushed but didn't respond, finally allowing the silver-haired man to lead her into the house.

Later that evening Inuyasha finally got to have a talk with his father. The two sat perched high in the branches of his and Kagome's favorite tree. It was odd to see his father up there but it was a welcome comfort. "I guess I really did get this habit from you," Inuyasha eventually said, smiling at his parent sitting easily on a sturdy branch a couple above him. The elder inuyoukai chuckled and nodded. The pair continued in silence for a bit longer, not quite ready to broach the subject they were both wanting to discuss. A slight breeze blew through the leaves, rustling them and tickling the hairs inside the hanyou's ears. He twitched them unconsciously, sighing softly and relaxing back against the trunk. "I almost couldn't bring her back Dad," he whispered.

The Taiyoukai remained silent as his son retold of his search for Kagome in Japan, the revelations Miroku had brought to light and the emotional struggle he'd had to go through with Kagome in order to get her to agree to return home with him. "She loves you a great deal Son."

Inuyasha huffed and growled. "Then how could she leave? I still don't get how she could up and walk away!"

"Because she does love you, my boy. In fact I think she may love you more than most people are capable of loving another person. She willingly let you go so you could be happy." Inuyasha frowned. That didn't make sense to him. "If Kikyo had been the one for you, and Kagome had been in the way, would you have been able to let Kagome out of your life?" The inuhanyou growled at the very thought. "You see? She thought you would be happy with Kikyo and she moved herself out of the picture so you wouldn't be unhappy. But also so she could move on herself."

"What the hell does she need to move on for? She's got me." Toga rolled his eyes. He loved both his sons a great deal and usually he would try to be as understanding as possible with them but both of them certainly had their moments... With a growl the Taiyoukai tossed a broken bit of branch at his son's head.

"She does now baka. But when you were going to marry Kikyo, what did you expect her to do? Be alone for her entire life so you could remain friends? That girl deserves more love than anyone has given her Inuyasha, and if your intentions toward her are not what I hope they are I will pay to send your ass back to that temple while she stays here!"

Inuyasha stared up at his father. It had been a very long time since he'd seen his father visibly angry. While he had often thought Sesshomaru got his emotional control from his youkai mother, their father could give a poker face with the best of them. This time he was reminded where he got his own temper from and Inuyasha had to remind himself that his own father would not hurt him willingly.

After several deep breaths Toga was able to calm himself and returned his gaze to the night sky. "Inuyasha, you've grown up a lot in the last few years but you still have a long way to go. You've learned that just because Kagome loves you, it doesn't mean she will wait for you forever. So now Son, you need to make sure you deserve her or at least try to deserve her for the rest of your life." He paused to smile slightly. "I will never deserve your mother but I've been trying for nearly a hundred years and she doesn't blame me for only being able to try."

Inuyasha digested his sire's words for a while before he felt ready to respond. "I don't deserve her," he said. Toga smirked a little at his son's humble voice. Inuyasha knew he would have to work his entire life to prove to himself that he was worthy of Kagome and he was willing to go the distance. "But I'm gonna try. I... I do love her Dad," he murmured. An embarrassed flush suffused his cheeks and he ducked his head slightly.

Toga was reminded of a much younger Inuyasha telling him determinedly that he would watch over a certain young human girl and her little brother while they slept. "I know you do Inuyasha," he whispered back, reaching over to ruffle the boy's hair.

"Kagome dear, could you hand me those towels?" Izayoi waited with her hand patiently outstretched as the young woman at her side gathered the requested items from where they were folded on the arm of the couch. She smiled at the girl, still obviously nervous around her, and took them with a quiet thank you. Kagome seemed to flinch at her every word and it worried her. Did the poor girl think they were mad at her? "Kagome? Sweetheart?" she questioned, gently tugging Kagome down next to her on the couch they had just cleared of clean laundry. "What's wrong dear?"

Kagome wasn't sure what to say. She didn't feel comfortable telling Izayoi all her fears and yet she knew there was no way to end her uncertainty if she didn't ask. 'You didn't have to let me back in the house.' It took a moment for the older human woman to understand but she finally did and huffed out a "preposterous!" at Kagome's assumption. 'Inuyasha was hurt when I left. I thought I was making it easier for him but I just ruined everything.'

"Really Kagome, don't be ridiculous. We aren't upset with you. You were very brave to do what you did and we're proud of you." A comforting hand was laid on Kagome's back, rubbing gentle circles. "If you hadn't left, Inuyasha would never have realized how much he needs you. We missed you a great deal, but if I'm honest with you, he needed the kick in the pants," she whispered the last. Kagome smiled a little at that. She hadn't thought of it that way, as it hadn't been her intention in the least, and it was good to hear a more positive spin on the lengthy time spent away from her family.

'Thanks Izayoi.'

"Of course dear."

The shadows in the hallway were long and deep but he wasn't bothered. He knew this house almost better than he knew himself, having traversed its every inch in the dark at some point or another. Her door was slightly open as if in invitation and he took it gladly, closing it behind him as he stepped inside. He could easily hear her soft breathing from the bed, telling him she was sound asleep. The young man had originally only meant to check on her but once her scent reached his nose somewhere down the hall he hadn't been able to resist at least staying for a little while. Her scent had been absent from that room, from the whole house, for far too long.

It felt like a fairytale. The moonlight beamed in through the window and shone down on the sleeping woman in the bed against the far wall. Her chest rose and fell rhythmically with each breath, her eyelids fluttering faintly as she dreamed. Inuyasha couldn't help the way his heart fluttered at the sight of her and he took several steps toward her. His head felt slightly off, like maybe he wasn't in complete control of himself but as he had no dangerous intentions in mind he didn't feel any panic at the thought. He just wanted to be near her and surely she wouldn't mind that. As he approached the edge of her bed he found himself leaning down to gently crawl up next to her, nudging her aside when he noticed she was taking up the whole bed.

Kagome frowned slightly, not sure what had woken her until she felt the weight of another person in bed with her. She was very warm and Inuyasha's body was like a furnace on its own. With a silent sigh she nudge him over a bit so she could push down the comforter and blanket, leaving them with just a light sheet to sleep under. He barely stirred enough to let her do that let alone wake up, his arms coming back around her firmly and tucking her against his chest. Kagome smiled softly. Letting him hold her through the night was something she hadn't let him do since they were kids. As protective as Inuyasha was of her he tended to have nightmares about her getting kidnapped or other more gruesome things. More than a few times he had crept into bed with her in the middle of the night, whimpering softly under his breath as he did so. Kagome sometimes had to coax him closer because he tended to curl up apart from her until she gave him clear permission to touch her. "Kagome," the hanyou muttered in his sleep, nuzzling into her hair and taking a very obvious sniff of her scent. With a smile the young woman drifted back to sleep.

"Mmmm..." He was warm, comfortable and content. There wasn't much that could have made him feel better. Maybe a full stomach but that could wait until later. The slight weight against his chest made him smile and he growled quietly in contentment. "Ouch!" he shouted when a pair of fingertips not so gently tweaked his ear. Golden eyes popped open to stare down into frustrated brown, glaring at him for who knew what. "What the hell was that for?" When he saw she was having trouble responding he finally realized her arm was stuck under his body and was probably asleep by now. Rolling onto his other side and then waiting for Kagome to get feeling back into her arm allowed Inuyasha to fully awaken. By the looks of things it was much later than he'd thought. He hadn't slept that late in years.

'Why did you come in here last night?' Kagome questioned him, a faintly worried look in her eyes. Remembering that he used to only get in bed with her when he was upset Inuyasha blushed and took her left hand, kissing the palm softly. 'Did you have a bad dream?'

'No. I wanted to be near you.' Kagome's worried look turned to sad for a moment. 'Stop beating yourself up,' he stopped her quickly before she could start apologizing, 'I understand why you did what you had to now. I don't blame you and you shouldn't blame yourself.' It had been a long time since they'd been able to have a full conversation in Sign and she'd almost forgotten how much she liked watching Inuyasha sign. Kagome quirked a small smile. She knew now why she hadn't been able to resist him in the first place.

'Thank you.' Inuyasha only smiled a faintly more predatory smile before rolling over to trap Kagome beneath him. Her glare was mild, as he hadn't trapped her hands, and if he could smell correctly, which he knew he could, she was excited. The inuhanyou lowered his face until his lips lightly brushed Kagome's, a gentle kiss to wish her "good morning." Next came the slightly more enthusiastic "good afternoon" from his tongue and teeth, his lips insistent on hers. Kagome returned the kiss wholeheartedly with her own tongue and teeth, roughly nipping his lower lip. A low growl rumbled from his chest making Kagome smirk. He hated it when she found his weak points and judging by the way his hips twitched toward her she had just found a very susceptible spot.

Inuyasha's eyes shot open and he pulled back to look down at the woman below him. He hadn't kissed very many girls in his life. A few at parties in high school on dares and then Kikyo was really the first. None of them kissed like Kagome. None of them used their teeth like she did. And the fact that her biting him had turned him on so thoroughly nearly had his head spinning. Was there anything about this girl that wasn't perfect? He couldn't think of anything off the top of his head... Not that he was thinking very clearly at the moment.

"You two had better be decent in there 'cause I'm coming in either way."

'Sota?' Kagome signed her brother's name with more excitement than Inuyasha thought possible. Her entire face lit up and she suddenly scrambled to get out from under him as the door swung open to reveal a shaggy-haired, tall and lanky young man. Sota had a smirk on his face and his arms open wide for his sister as she barreled toward him across the room. 'I'm so happy to see you! How are you? How's school? When did you get here? How long are you staying?'

'Relax Sis, we have all the time in the world to catch up,' he replied, dragging her close again to hug her. The pair shared a long hug, tears filling both their eyes, though Sota was better at hiding it. 'Wow, you look great Kagome. Where's the chubby little thing that left here three years ago?' At Sota's joke Kagome smacked his arm. She had lost a bit of weight, having grown into her more adult body on a diet fit for the very pious, but she had never been chubby. In fact Izayoi had always been trying to make her eat more because she was afraid the poor girl was too thin.

'Thanks, what's with the hair?' she teased back, tugging on the longer strands that hung in his eyes. The two joked back and forth briefly before Inuyasha cleared his throat, his long arms dangling between his knees from where his elbows rested. He was watching the siblings with an affectionate look though Kagome could see he was still a little mad about being disrupted. She gave him a sympathetic look to which he only shrugged. They would have other times to be alone.

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Thanks for your patience! New job and a new apartment = no time for posting. I have to proofread the next chapter, then that will be up as well. Please review!


	7. Chapter 7

Happy Labor Day folks! Hey paid holiday! Having a big girl job is kind of fun. Hope those of you who had the day off enjoyed it as much as I did!

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Being home was a bit strange. Everyone was so welcoming at first and then they all started treating her as though she'd never been gone. It was nice to feel like part of the family again. The monks had always been kind to her, respectful if not a little nervous around her. The elder and more highly trained monks felt her natural strength as a miko and tended to treat her with a high amount of respect. The younger ones, usually those new to their robes, were often caught off guard by the fact that a young woman was living in the temple with them and were not quite sure how to treat her. They tended to scuttle off with "important things to do" on the other side of the temple from her. While it was quiet and peaceful, she had missed being able to talk with people who understood her, people who weren't afraid of her.

Inuyasha had always been attentive before he left for school, almost to the point of stifling, but Kagome had never been bothered by it. Now, after having spent most of her time alone in silence, he seemed loud and perhaps a little obsessive. She knew it was a combination of two factors; her previous solitude and his protective instincts delighting in having her back. Again she didn't mind, it just took getting used to again.

"Kagome!" The young woman glanced down at the hanyou standing below her branch, hands on his hips in a gesture that reflected what she would have done had their places been reversed. She smiled innocently down at him since she wasn't sure what he wanted or what had him in a huff now. "I've been looking for you. How long have you been out here?" Kagome shrugged, not sure and not particularly in the mood to care either. She was plenty warm, the weather was pretty nice and she was enjoying watching the leaves fall off the branches in slow fluttering motions. "Are you coming down any time soon?" the hanyou asked her in a softer tone. Again she shrugged. After a moment's hesitation Inuyasha leaped from the ground onto a branch next to her before sidling over and slipping in behind her to cradle her in his arms. Kagome smiled and relaxed into his chest, loving the warmth and security he provided her with.

'I was just thinking,' she replied when Inuyasha asked her what she'd been doing out there. When he asked her what about, she tilted her head, pausing mid-shrug. 'You... me... us I guess,' she finally answered. No point in lying.

"Us?" Kagome nodded slowly. "What about us?" Inuyasha wanted to know. The woman in his arms fidgeted slightly, trying to readjust on the branch they were on so she could at least see his expression out of the corner of her eye.

'Where are we going, Inuyasha?' He seemed confused by her question. 'I just want to know what to expect.' The hanyou jumped slightly, obviously startled. 'I mean, being home with you is nice. But I still meant what I said back at the temple. If there's nothing for me to stay here for...'

"Don't be stupid. Why wouldn't you stay? You belong here with me!" Kagome nodded slowly. It wasn't exactly the response she had been looking for. She needed to know for sure that he wouldn't leave her behind again when something better came along. How to explain that to Inuyasha without insulting him, she wasn't sure. "What are you expecting?" he returned.

'I don't know. I don't want to expect too much or too little.'

"That's a very vague answer Kagome." She shrugged. "What do you want to happen?" At this Kagome seemed to think very hard. Waiting for her to think, Inuyasha tried to stay as still as the young woman in his arms. Finally she turned herself a little more in order to face him properly. Slowly, she brought her shaking hands together. Her right clasped over the left and Inuyasha's eyes widened. Kagome looked away angrily at his initial response, blushing brightly from her neck up. Inuyasha gaped at her. Marriage? She honestly wanted to marry him? Him? But he was stubborn, stupid and rude. Not to mention the fact that he was a half-demon! "But Kagome..." Feeling her pull away from him, Inuyasha struggled to justify keeping her to himself before she got far enough to get away. He remembered his conversation with his father and tried to draw back the willpower he'd gained. Strong arms wrapped around her waist to keep her against him while he tried to explain things to her. "Kagome I'm stupid and mean, you always say so. Why would you want me?"

'Why did you bring me here if not for us to be together?' Kagome demanded to know, keeping her eyes on the branch under them. 'If you only brought me here to keep me close, so help me...'

"No! I mean... I do want us to... to be together." Taking a deep breath, he tried again. "I want to be with you Kagome. I only want to make sure that's really what you want." She frowned, glancing at him over her shoulder.

'Why wouldn't I? We've been over this. I am the one with the defect,' she tossed the sign away from her body, a visual version of spitting in anger. Inuyasha growled deeply, picking Kagome up so he could turn her all the way around to face him. 'Careful!' she chided.

"Look at me! There is nothing wrong with you!" Kagome threw him a sarcastic look. "I'm serious! There is nothing the matter with you. So what, you can't use your voice? I can understand you perfectly. It's what's in here that matters." He punctuated his rant by resting his hand over her heart. Tears almost instantly filled her eyes and she looked away. "I've never been bothered by it before, why would I start now?"

'Friends is one thing... your sister is one thing. Your wife is something else completely.'

He stared at her long and hard. "What she said to you really got to you, didn't it?" he asked finally. She froze, her breath catching in her throat, then slumped slightly. Her tears slipped down her cheeks in silence. "I've never thought of you as less. You're... everything to me Kagome. I searched the whole freaking planet for you!" he cried, his hands waving emphatically in the air. At that she smiled, a breathy emission of air that was her equivalent to a laugh leaving her. She finally turned her gaze back to him, her deep brown eyes searching his face. Giving her a lopsided smile, he touched her cheek softly. "I would have searched the universe. You belong with me and I belong with you. End of story."

'You sure?'

"Of course I'm sure." She grinned for the first time, the smile lighting her eyes like he hadn't seen in a very long time. He gathered her into a hug, sniffing her deeply and sighing his contentment. Feeling whole again, he smiled into her hair and considered the possibility of trying to kiss her breathless in this tree... without falling out of it.

"Mom, I know you're excited, but if you don't stop it I'm gonna..."

"Don't you threaten your mother young man," she scolded with a twinkle in her eye. She knew her son was losing his patience, but he was the one who had asked her to come with him. "I still think this is the better choice. I know you want to... prove something to her, but this is more her style." Inuyasha eyed the ring in the case that his mother liked so much. It was sturdy, but not too clunky. It wasn't crusted in diamonds like the one he wanted to get, but the edges were traced with filigree and engraving, giving the band an antique look. It looked classic and still fancy enough that it would stand out. "And definitely an emerald."

Inuyasha frowned, sighing. "I thought it was supposed to be a diamond."

"Traditionally in the States, yes. But in Europe it's far more common to get some other kind of precious stone and green is her favorite color." Inuyasha contemplated it for a while. The man behind the counter had wandered off after being growled at one too many times and now finally returned in hopes of actually making a sale. "Just trust me, as a woman and your mother." That seemed to do the trick.

Taking a deep breath, Inuyasha looked into the man's eyes and asked him one of the hardest questions he'd asked anyone. "How much for that one with an emerald?" The man smiled gently and took a glance at a book he pulled from under the counter. The price for the band itself was nowhere near as bad as Inuyasha had anticipated, the emerald however... He and Izayoi were there another hour looking at cuts, carats and clarity before deciding on one. "A week to have it set? I thought I could walk out of here with it."

"We want to make sure it is the best quality we can provide sir. In that time it would be to the advantage of all to find out the ring size of your lucky lady. Even if it is only a rough estimate. Precise sizing can be done afterward."

"I have a ring that I think might be about her size," Izayoi said with a small smile, "I'll get her to try it on and let you know." Inuyasha looked at his mother gratefully, then nodded at the clerk that their business was concluded. The pair wandered out of the store, walking down the sidewalk that flowed through the outdoor shopping area. "I'm very proud of you Inuyasha. You'll make Kagome very happy, I just know it."

The inuhanyou sighed deeply. "I hope so. I messed things up so royally before." His mother smiled, shaking her head. "What's that look for?"

The human woman, much older than her fifty-year-old face implied, looked at her son. He was a handsome boy and she truly was proud of him. Sometimes he was a clod though. "You and Kagome really are so alike. She thought the same thing when you first brought her home." She watched him consider her statement and the small smile it brought to his lips. "Dear. I wanted to ask you something." His ears perked in her direction and his golden eyes, so like his father's, turned to her. "The ring I want to have Kagome try on is her mother's wedding band. I want to give it to her for her to wear as her wedding band once you are married, if that's alright with you." His eyes widened slightly and he stopped walking. "I won't tell her what you are planning, only that I think she should have it."

"How... how did you get it?" he asked in a whisper. Although he had been young, he was not oblivious to the circumstances that had brought Kagome and Sota into their lives. His mother softly explained that once the police had gotten involved, under Toga's strict watch, they had gathered the family's belongings and stored them away for Kagome and Sota once they were old enough. The ring had been kept especially by Izayoi for a day she had always hoped would come. "You thought we would be together from the start," he murmured, sitting heavily on the bench readily available. His mother sat beside him, watching the emotions on his face. "That's why you were always so upset with me about Kikyo. You wanted me to be with Kagome... and you knew how she felt."

"Everyone knew how Kagome felt, honey, even you. You just didn't realize it."

Inuyasha shook his head. He didn't want to believe that he had intentionally hurt Kagome in such a way but he couldn't completely deny that part of him had wondered if her behavior had stemmed from jealousy. At the time, his mind had then assumed that her jealousy was as a girl who felt she'd had her best friend stolen from her, not a young woman rejected by the man she loved.

He would have liked to be able to say he thought of her as too pure or too sweet to be with him, that he'd thought they could never be and so had never thought she could care for him that way. But he had dreamed, had always dreamed, of them together. Almost from the moment he had set eyes on her when they were both young, he had had flashes of them holding hands. As he'd grown older, the dreams had changed, morphed into more solid representations of the life he hoped for. His teenaged years had included far more risque encounters, which were even harder to handle when he had woken up from some particularly steamy ones sitting in Kagome's room, as usual unsure how he'd gotten there. Even when he'd been with Kikyo, his dream lover was still usually Kagome, or sometimes she would begin as Kikyo and change into Kagome.

"You always knew. How?" he finally whispered to his mother.

She smiled softly, patting his knee. "When youkai pups are born, they never have birthmarks." He stared at her as though she had perhaps lost her mind. What did that have to do with anything?

"I'm not full youkai Mom," he said, rolling his eyes and sitting back against the bench. "I have that mark on my ribs anyway. I've always had it." Her grin widened and he eyed her warily. "Haven't I?"

Izayoi took a deep breath and tried to properly align her thoughts to make this as clear as she could the first time through. "Do you remember the first day you came home from school after meeting Kagome?" His eyes told her he thought she was reaching pretty far. "The day her family... That was not the first time you had met Kagome. When you were very small, you were in the same school. You met her on the playground."

"Why don't I remember that?"

"Likely because you passed out in the process." His look was incredulous. "I had to come get you at school because you were in the nurse's office. No one knew what had happened, just that you and Kagome had been playing together near the swings and that suddenly you were both unconscious. They suspected a virus, your father knew better."

Inuyasha shook his head. What on earth was she talking about? "Mom? This is crazy... Wouldn't I remember Kagome from school after that?"

"Let me tell my story," she admonished him. He held up his hands in surrender. "When I got to you, Kagome's mother was there as well. Poor woman was terrified. I had already spoken to your father and he told me what to look for." She reached over and patted his side where his birthmark, or so he'd thought, lay. "I asked Kagome's mother if she had any particular markings or birthmarks. Since they are human, birthmarks were the only option really."

"Kagome doesn't have..." He realized as he began to say it that he didn't really know if she had or not. He'd never seen that portion of her skin before. He'd dreamed about it, sure, but never actually seen her fully nude. "Mom, are you saying I have this because she does?"

She smiled. "It's a little more complicated than that, but yes. You have no markings of your own, so it made sense for you to take on hers. You two more or less preliminarily marked one another from a very young age. We moved you to a different school so that things didn't move too quickly and your father kept in close contact with Kagome's family throughout your childhood. He tried to protect them..." Her eyes dropped to her lap and he could smell the sadness come over her. "We were all lucky he was even able to save Kagome and Sota."

Inuyasha sat stunned for a long time. Mate-marked from a young age? He didn't even know that was possible. "That's why I ended up in her room all the time, isn't it?" Izayoi nodded slowly. "And why I've always felt like I needed to protect her." Another nod. He took a deep breath. "And why I lost it when she went missing." His mother placed her hand on his knee, trying to ease him through this revelation. He leaned forward, putting his face in his hands. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

The human woman sighed, closing her eyes. She had known this question would come eventually and she had been practicing her answer for years. "Even though the mark was made, and stayed even while you two were apart, you both had to make the decision on your own and in your own time to be together. Telling you about the markings would have influenced you. You might have felt you had no option and would have resented each other instead of allowing your feelings to develop naturally."

Standing a moment later, the inuhanyou reached out to help his mother up. "Let's go home. I... I need to see her." Izayoi looked up at her son in concern as they walked back toward where the car was parked.

"This... doesn't change your feelings for her, does it?" she asked quietly, now afraid that she shouldn't have told him.

"Of course not. Talking about her so much makes me want to see her, that's all." She smiled, her heart settling down. "You asked me if I remembered coming home that day. Did I do or say something?"

Izayoi laughed softly, smiling gently at her son. His ears had swiveled in her direction, his focus entirely on her. "You asked me when Kagome would be yours."

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Woo, two chapters in one night. Watch out! Please review if you get the chance.


	8. Chapter 8

Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long in coming. I wasn't sure how far I wanted to take this chapter in the direction it was going so it took longer to shape it than I anticipated. But, here it is! I hope you enjoy it! Getting geared up for the holiday season which means less travel than usual for us this year, but we'll still be running around a lot I suspect.

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Kagome sat watching the sun set while gently running her fingers through Inuyasha's hair. He had come home, agitated, and had wanted to lay down with her. She had obliged him, petting him until he fell asleep with his head in her lap. Many a time before he had asked for and received such comfort from her when they were younger. When Sesshomaru teased him, or someone at school had tried to pick a fight with him, he came to her to calm his youki. He never had to say anything, simply look at her with those eyes and she knew what he needed.

This time he had stood in the kitchen, staring at her for a long time while she read a book on the porch. After nearly ten minutes, she had finally motioned him over. He had approached her, pushed her gently down to one side of the couch and then curled up beside her. They had been like that for well over an hour. Looking down at his sleeping form, she saw that his breathing was even and deep, where it had been somewhat harried earlier. _What had you so upset, huh?_ she thought and wondered if he would even tell her. Sometimes he did, sometimes he didn't. It tended to depend on whether or not he thought it would upset her.

A slight movement made her glance down, smiling softly when she saw it was Inuyasha's foot twitching in his sleep. He clearly felt safe with her, to sleep so soundly, and it warmed her heart. Of course, if she really thought about it, a lot of his stranger sleeping habits revolved around her. Coming to her instead of his parents when he had a nightmare, waking up in her room by the door almost every morning, taking her up into trees to nap when he was upset...

"I didn't realize he was still losing sleep." Kagome jumped slightly, startling Inuyasha, but not waking him completely. She stayed very still for a while and he went right back to sleep. "Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you, Little One." Kagome smiled at Toga where he had taken a seat on another chair. Both turned their gaze on the sleeping hanyou, contemplating different things. "He's been sleeping much better since you've been back." He grinned a little. "He was pacing and sleepwalking for a while. I had to chase him out of a tree once at three in the morning." Kagome smiled too. It didn't hurt quite so much to hear what her absence had done to Inuyasha, because now she knew why. He loved her, he wanted to be with her. The guilt still lay heavily on her, but it was getting easier to carry.

"I would have slept like a baby if you weren't snoring like a bear youkai in the other room, old man," Inuyasha snorted, rubbing his eyes and yawning. Kagome jumped, looking at him to try and see if he was feeling better. He gave her a little smirk. "Just because I'm asleep doesn't mean I can't smell you."

Toga laughed, settling back into his chair and putting his feet up on the table. "Your nose has always been getting you into trouble, along with that mouth of yours."

"Learned from the best," Inuyasha quipped. Kagome grinned, shaking her head at the two. Seeing the two of them together was more than enough reminder of their relationship, the similarities in their personalities making her smile. Inuyasha got his tenaciousness from his father and his caring heart from both parents. His quick tongue could be argued over since Izayoi was known to talk a few circles around her mate in an argument but Toga was a very quick wit. While Inuyasha's normal silvery and golden coloring was all his father, his human nights he looked nothing like him, darkly beautiful like his mother. _What would our children look like?_ Kagome caught herself wondering as she listened to the two interact, teasing each other and lightly bickering over who was going to mow the lawn next.

The thought of children made her blush, more in thought of how children would come about. Having lived with three males with incredibly sensitive noses for a large portion of her life, Kagome knew better than to let her thoughts get out of control. They would smell it immediately and the embarrassment would likely kill her. Thinking about how embarrassing it would be to get caught thinking dirty thoughts in front of her adopted father quickly squelched any such feelings toward his son.

The call of her name from the kitchen brought her out of her daze and gave her a quick excuse to leave the two inus to themselves. Izayoi was standing by the stove, a pie filling of some kind slowly simmering in a pan while a crust was being baked off in the oven. Kagome saw fresh cherries sitting in a container on the counter next to a jar of candied ones and peeked in to find homemade pudding in the pot. Cherry cordial pie? Izayoi knew it was her favorite. Kagome, while pleased, was slightly suspicious. Was the older woman trying to butter her up for something? "Can you grab that crust out of the oven for me dear? I don't want it to get too brown." Kagome nodded, taking an oven mitt from the counter and pulling the pan from the oven. She set it aside on the cooling rack waiting for it and took a deep sniff. The comforting scent of baked goods. She smiled. "Thank you." Izayoi lifted the spoon from the pudding and eyed it critically. "Does that look like the right consistency to you?"

Kagome eyed it as well. It looked about right to her. It would set up in the pie crust just right. The warmth from the hot pudding making the fresh cherries just the right soft texture. She nodded. Izayoi returned with a resolute nod of her own, turning off the stove and pulling the pan off to the side. She started tossing the fresh cherries in one by one, double checking for stems or pits she might have missed.

"Will you drain the maraschinos for me?" Kagome grinned and took the little jar, popping the top and carefully draining off the excess liquid. "Kagome? I have something I wanted to give you." The younger woman looked up from where she was tipping the candied cherries into the pudding mixture, stirring them in with the spoon. Izayoi looked thoroughly pleased, but nervous somehow and Kagome wondered at it. Forgetting the pie filling, she wiped her hands on the towel and waited. "When you came to us, there were things of your family's that we kept for you and Sota." Kagome's eyes widened slightly but she motioned for Izayoi to continue. "Your mother wanted you to have this and now that you've returned to us, I think you should have it. I've been holding onto it too long." She gave her a smile before taking her hand and pressing a small silver band with delicate filigree circling it into her palm.

Kagome couldn't help the small gasp that left her. Her mother's wedding band. She'd recognize it anywhere. She had always admired it and her mother had told her that one day, when she was to get married, she would get to wear it. Closing her eyes at the grief this brought on, Kagome took several deep breaths. Opening her eyes again she looked down at the ring in her palm. The silver shone brightly, not a spot of tarnish, and it begged to be placed on her finger. Delicate fingers took it from her palm and placed it on her right ring finger.

Kagome had always loved her mother's hands. They were strong yet feminine. She didn't realize how similar her own were to her mother's until now. The band fit as if it was meant to be there. She looked up at her surrogate mother and gave her a watery smile before giving her a warm hug. "Oh Kagome dear," she shushed as small sobs ran through her. "I am so glad I could finally give this to you. You are a beautiful young woman and your mother would be so proud of you. I am so proud of you." Kagome squeezed her tighter for a moment before stepping back to wipe at her eyes. Her smile was bright

'Thank you, for everything.' Izayoi smiled, taking the pan of pie filling and taking it over to the cooled crust. The filling poured in like velvet, settling into the crust until it almost overflowed. Kagome smiled as she watched the older woman work, placing plastic wrap over the stop to keep the pudding from forming a skin in the refrigerator and placing it on a shelf. It would be a couple of hours before they could top it with whip cream and cherry cordial candies from the store. Izayoi always made her own whip cream, which was sitting like sweet clouds in a bowl in the fridge already.

"Your mother has been itching to give that to her for years." Inuyasha jumped at the sound of his father's voice. He'd been watching discreetly from just around the door frame into the kitchen.

"Keh. I know. She told me what happened today." Toga raised an eyebrow at his son. "How come you guys never told me about the marks? Especially when you knew I was planning on proposing to Kikyo."

Studying his son, he saw that he was not angry, just curious. "As I'm sure you're mother told you, we thought it best not to interfere. You had to make the choice on your own. Our influence would have only made you rebel, or ignore us." Inuyasha's mouth twisted, but he nodded. "You were both so young. We had never heard of anything like it. I believe, had you married Kikyo and tried to mark her the wrongness would have hit you then. The bond between you and Kagome is very strong."

"By then it would have been too late," Inuyasha argued.

"Not exactly. Annulling the marriage would have sufficed, but I imagine there would have been a lot of hurt feelings and lost money on both sides. All of which would have been worth it if it brought you to where you'd truly be happy." Toga sighed, patting his son on the shoulder. "Far better that it never came to that."

"Obviously."

"When are you going to uh... pop the question?" Toga's smirk was wide as his son turned to look at him. "You've got a week to prepare, right? You'd better have an amazing set-up." The older youkai strolled through the screen door, smiling to himself when his son followed.

Inuyasha frowned, contemplating what his father was suggesting. "I take it the last one wasn't up to snuff."

"You don't want to take any chances of reminding her of that time."

Inuyasha quickly conceded the point. "How did you propose to Mom?" Freezing mid-step, the inuyoukai coughed slightly then continued toward the tree most of the family used as a thinking spot. Toga sprung effortlessly into one of the higher branches while Inuyasha chose to pace around the trunk. "I mean, it must have been one hell of a proposal."

Considering what to tell the hanyou below him, the taiyoukai thought back to the day he'd met his mate, just over a hundred years before. Izayoi had been young, late teens. Japan was still settling into its new skin under the Meiji restoration. Things were tough for those who had been of the samurai class who now found themselves equal with everyone else. At least in theory. Izayoi's father had found it more difficult than others. Feeling his pride was lost, his dignity destroyed, he was driven to drink. Izayoi's mother had passed a few years after birthing their youngest daughter and had left the old man with three daughters to care for. The eldest married as quickly as she could, the middle child taking advantage of the less restricting environment went out to work as a secretary, meeting a businessman from Europe a few months later and moving away to France. Izayoi was left to care for a father who rarely knew she was there.

She had been tending their meager garden when a tall stranger, injured from a fight, had stumbled out of the forest that backed their property. Being a samurai's daughter, her first instinct had been to defend herself, a wooden sword nearly flying into her hand. It was at his throat before he knew what hit him. "You had better have a very good reason for being here in my garden." The strength of her resolve impressed him. Up until the moment he lost consciousness.

He regained it some time later, but found himself in a precarious position. Stripped to the waist and bandaged, his swords were out of reach and he was bound hand and foot on a tatami mat in an old shed. He attempted to break said bonds with his usually impressive youkai strength. He found himself mildly zapped and panting from the pull on his wounds. "What is this? Ofuda?" he growled, looking up at the slips of paper stuck to the rags binding his wrists. He knew better than to make another attempt to pull them apart at that point. He didn't fancy another shot of purifying energy while he was still bleeding.

A scent lifted his nose. He blearily remembered the fiery young human who had threatened him earlier. Was that who the scent belonged to? That was answered rather quickly when the same bokken from before was leveled under his nose. "What is your name?"

"Bold for a human waving a piece of wood in my face," he replied. He glanced over and saw a delicate raised eyebrow arched over a perfectly almond shaped brown eye. One of a pair set over a perfectly upturned nose and a pair of nicely shaped lips. Dark hair was swept back into a bun at her nape. "Pretty human," he mumbled to himself before blowing out a sigh that became more painful than he had anticipated. "You may release me and I will gladly leave you be. I have no intention of harming you," he explained softly, trying to be patient. Part of the reason he was not healing as quickly as his very strong youkai blood would allow was the affect of the holy ofuda at his wrists and ankles.

The human woman moved into his line of sight and he took pleasure in being able to see her without having to strain his neck. "I may be human, youkai, but I am not simple." One fist sat on her curved hip, the other comfortably holding the wooden sword. He wondered at her bravery and her easy handle on the situation. Most humans, let alone human women, would have run screaming from a youkai, injured or not. Needless to say finding himself more or less at this little human's mercy had not been what he expected. "Your wounds are rather severe," she said, breaking his daze. She sounded genuinely concerned despite the fact that she had clearly made the effort to tie him up and bind him with holy magic. He looked down at himself and took a moment to better analyze where and how badly he was hurt.

The cuts across his belly probably hurt the worst, but were not as bad as his back. The pack of ookami youkai had not given him a moment's reprieve. Their leader was ruthless and fully intended to usurp his throne as taiyoukai of the western lands. Numbers hadn't bought him the victory and Toga would live to punish them further once he could get this little human to let him go. "They will heal better without these," he gestured with his head to the restraints that held his arms above him.

"Hmm. I'm sure they would." She paused, overtly eying him. "Especially once you eat me or steal my soul." Toga felt a chuckle bubble out of him before he could stop it, bringing pain along with it. He gasped and closed his eyes, trying to settle his racing heart. Gentle hands pressed carefully against the bandages at his hip and above his navel. He knew she was only checking to make sure he hadn't split the wounds again, but he couldn't help the sudden wave of pleasant heat that suffused him. Why did she care so much if she was so wary of him? More importantly, why was she affecting him so acutely? "I imagine you were going to tell me you don't eat humans." He could hear the smile in her voice.

"Only when they deserve it," he replied. He opened his eyes again when he could think a little more clearly through the pain and stared at the young woman staring back. She was quite pretty. "Although I don't agree with your methods, I appreciate your help..." he trailed off, hoping she would supply her name. She gave him a sly grin, wagging a finger at him. Not until she had his. He smirked, golden eyes twinkling. "I am known as the Inu-no-Taisho, Taiyoukai of the western lands." While the titles might have impressed other youkai, his little human merely raised her eyebrow at him and waited. "You may call me Toga if it is your wish."

"Was that so hard?" she said with a grin. "I am Izayoi..." A crash made her whip around, stiffening at the sound of a man yelling. Toga frowned at the clearly drunken slur to the voice. Was it a husband? She seemed young to have a husband as old as this man sounded. Not that he was one to talk. He was around two hundred and fifty himself and his son Sesshomaru was already nearing fifty. He knew humans tended to marry off their young daughters to older men... "Stay here," she whispered against his ear, sending a delicious shiver down his spine. He felt the release of the ofuda at his wrists and then his ankles before she flew out of the hut like the hounds of hell were at her heels. Toga slowly lowered his arms, rolling his wrists and popping his joints to get them back in working order. The man's voice coming from the house was getting increasingly more agitated even as he heard Izayoi's attempts to soothe him. "Chichi-hue, please, your dinner is waiting for you in here. Did you not..."

"Food's cold," he growled to her. "You can't expect me to eat that swill, Michiko!" Toga frowned. Her own father, a drunk and ungrateful on top of it. Already he could guess that she was a diligent woman, mindful of those who relied on her. Who was this Michiko? Has she given him a false name?

He was about to step in when he heard the sound of masculine crying and Izayoi shushing him, taking him into the house. Almost half an hour later she returned to the hut with a plate of food, looking surprised that he was there. "Toga-sama," she smiled in relief, glancing at his bandages with a practiced eye. "I hope this will help you gain your strength so that you can be on your way."

"Trying to get rid of me?" he asked with a small smile. She looked worn and he wanted to wipe it from her. "Izayoi-san," he stumbled over the suffix, not liking the formality of it on his tongue, "your father is..."

"Don't mind him. He is unwell." The lie was blatant and he cringed at the way she tried to make herself believe it almost as strongly as she seemed to hope he would.

"And Michiko?"

She stiffened sharply at the name. "My mother. She died when I was three." He instantly regretted asking. It really wasn't any of his business, and she had been kind to him... aside from tying him up. Really he couldn't blame her given her position. She was young, human and alone at home with a father who demanded her care and protection far more than what he offered her. "Sometimes he thinks that I am her. It is... uncomfortable." Toga looked up sharply from the plate in his lap at the young woman sharing her confidence with him. Toga didn't need her to clarify what that meant for her.

He felt sick at the possibility that this beautiful and strong young woman was reduced to fear by her father, a man who was supposed to be looking out for her. The plate was set aside and he slowly pulled himself to his feet. At his full height he towered over her, but quickly found himself supported by her when his strength was less than he'd hoped. "You are brave little Izayoi," he heard himself purr. She gave him a half smile but said nothing. Looking into her eyes he saw none of the fear he had thought he would find there, none of the disgust that most humans displayed toward youkai. The touch of her hands on his skin made him flush with warmth, a feeling he was unused to. His consort, Sesshomaru's mother, had been a political union, one neither of them had been pleased about. He had never known true affection for anyone but his son. Izayoi made him feel things far stronger than mere affection. "I will be better within a few hours."

Her smile dropped quickly, the gentle blush that had risen on her cheeks fading. Her disappointment was tangible and he bit back a smile. So she felt something for him as well? He found himself immeasurably pleased. "I am glad you heal so quickly, Toga-sama." Her wide brown eyes look up at him, taking him in.

"Only with your... careful care," he replied with a grin. And then he couldn't help himself. He'd meant for it to only be a taste. A small kiss to thank her he told himself. Just a small taste so he knew what it was like. Her response was more than he could have ever hoped for, her small hands gripping his shoulder blades as her tiny body pressed against his. Toga pulled himself away with effort, panting for breath. There was suddenly no doubt in his mind. She was to be his. He thought frantically. Simply take her with him when he was able to move? No, her father would notice at some point that she was gone. Search parties might be sent out. Better to play the game and offer for her properly. "I will return tomorrow afternoon for you. I will meet with your father and I will take you with me." He had expected a fight, even a small resistance. All he saw in her eyes was hope.

"Dad?" Toga shook off his memory and smiled a little. That had been an interesting time in his life. Izayoi had continued to make it interesting for the last one hundred years.

"I met your mother and made my offer to her father the next day," he told Inuyasha who had been waiting impatiently for him to explain his grand proposal. "He was... not pleased. A youkai stealing his daughter and all that. Eventually he realized he had no choice but to agree." The inuyoukai chuckled. "In case you didn't know, your mother is very persuasive when necessary." Inuyasha scoffed, leaning back against the tree. "Do what feels right, son. Kagome will say yes, and she will remember whatever you do fondly."

"What if I royally screw it up?"

Again the older youkai chuckled. "Your mother never begrudged me paying her father to get her hand. Kagome is free to make her choice on her own, free to give her permission to whomever she wishes. That has always been you, my boy. She will be thrilled no matter what. A few flubs make good stories anyway," he said with a grin.

Inuyasha sighed, thinking deeply about his options. He had a few ideas, but wasn't sure of any of them. He bounced them off of his father for a while, the two of them shaping a plan. An hour later the inuhanyou had a solid idea, a ring waiting in the wings and his father's help to pull it all off. He smirked. "I think I can do this," he said finally, his chest puffed with pride.

Toga, gazing down at the man his youngest son had become and thinking of the young woman he was going to make very happy, smiled warmly. "I know you can, Inuyasha."

* * *

Ok. So I'll be completely honest, I know almost nothing about Japanese history. I was focused on an entirely different hemisphere in my studies from about 7th grade on. Ask me about Mexico and Central America, I got you. South America and Brazil? You're on. US... little foggy on the details. Western Europe? Perhaps. Eastern Europe... probably not. China, Japan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia... Not gonna happen. My brother lives in China... That's all I got. So I remained as vague on the historical details as I could to avoid any, "You got it all wrong!" comments and other angry retorts of that variety. Please review if you feel the inclination! Thanks everyone.


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